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BY 

FITZHUGH*  LEE 

|| 

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1913 


COPYRIGHT,  1894, 
BY  D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY. 


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Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


I  DEDICATE  THIS  BOOK 

TO  THE  MEMORY  OF  THE  SOLDIERS 

WHO    FOUGHT    AND    FELL 

UNDER  THE  WAVE  OF   ROBERT  E.    LEE'S   SWORD,   AND   ARE 
SLEEPING  IN   UNBROKEN   RANKS,  WITH  THE  DEW  ON  THEIR   BROWS 
AND  THE  RUST   ON  THEIR  MAIL." 


282624 


PREFACE. 


THE  occasion  has  been  embraced  to  express  the  uni 
versal  regret  that  General  Lee  never  wrote  anything 
concerning  his  career  and  campaigns.  His  statements 
would  have  settled  conflicting  opinions  on  all  subjects 
contained  therein.  We  know  that  it  was  his  intention 
to  record  the  deeds  of  his  soldiers,  but  not  to  write  his 
personal  memoirs.  He  waited  for  a  "  convenient  sea 
son,"  and  waited  too  long.  In  this  volume  the  attempt 
has  been  made  to  imperfectly  supply  the  great  desire  to 
have  something  from  Robert  E.  Lee's  pen,  by  introduc 
ing,  at  the  periods  referred  to,  such  extracts  from  his 
private  letters  as  would  be  of  general  interest.  He  is 
thus  made,  for  the  first  time,  to  give  his  impressions  and 
opinions  on  most  of  the  great  events  with  which  he  was 
so  closely  connected.  Except  in  a  few  instances,  the 
scope  of  the  book  has  not  permitted  the  tactical  details 
of  the  battlefield,  or  the  mention  by  name  of  many  of 
the  officers  and  organizations  whose  superb  courage 
contributed  to  their  commander's  fame. 

F.  L. 
GLASGOW,  VA.,  August,  1894. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PACK 

I. — ANCESTRY i 

II. — BIRTH. — CAREER  AS  OFFICER  OF  ENGINEERS,  UNITED 

STATES  ARMY 20 

III. — A  CAVALRY  OFFICER  OF  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  UNITED 

STATES 52 

IV.— WAR 78 

V. — INVASION  OF  VIRGINIA 99 

VI.— THE  CAMPAIGN  IN  WEST  VIRGINIA    .        .        .        .112 
VII. — ATLANTIC  COAST  DEFENSES. — ASSIGNED  TO  DUTY  IN 
RICHMOND  AS  COMMANDER  IN  CHIEF  UNDER  THE 

DIRECTION  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  PRESIDENT       .  128 
VIII. — COMMANDS  THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND,  AND 

SEVEN  DAYS  BATTLES 149 

IX. — SECOND  BATTLE  OF  MANASSAS 185 

X. — SHARPSBURG  AND  FREDERICKSBURG    ....  207 

XI.— CHANCELLOR  SVILLE 240 

XII.— GETTYSBURG 269 

XlII. — CAMPAIGN  IN  VIRGINIA. — BRISTOL  STATION. — MINE 

RUN. — WILDERNESS 315 

XIV. — SIEGE  OF  PETERSBURG 346 

XV. — EVACUATION  OF  RICHMOND  AND  THE  PETERSBURG 

LINES. — RETREAT  AND  SURRENDER          .        .        .  379 
XVI. — RETURN   TO   RICHMOND. — PRESIDENT  OF  WASHING 
TON  COLLEGE. — DEATH  AND  BURIAL      '.        .        .  400 

XVII.— MILITARY  CHARACTER 420 

INDEX 425 


GENERAL  LEE. 


CHAPTER   I. 

ANCESTRY. 

WESTMORELAND  is  one  of  a  group  of  counties  in  Vir 
ginia  lying  between  the  Rappahannock  and  Potomac 
Rivers.  It  was  originally  a  portion  of  Northumberland 
County,  and,  though  small  in  geographical  extent,  its 
historical  record  is  great.  Within  a  space  of  thirty  miles 
in  length  and  an  average  width  of  fifteen  miles  were  born 
statesmen,  soldiers,  and  patriots  whose  lives  and  charac 
ters  adorn  the  pages  of  American  history,  and  whose 
courage,  genius,  and  learning  are  the  proud  inheritance 
of  those  who  dwell  to-day  in  the  powerful  republic  of 
America.  Here,  from  England,  in  1665,  settled  the  great 
grandfather  of  the  "  Father  of  his  Country."  American 
ized,  he  became  an  extensive  planter,  soldier,  magistrate, 
member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  and  a  gentleman 
whose  virtue  and  piety  were  undoubted.  In  his  will  he 
expressed  his  "  sorrow  for  his  sins,  and  begged  forgive 
ness  from  Almighty  God,  Saviour,  and  Redeemer."  Here 
his  son,  Lawrence,  and  his  grandson,  Augustine,  were 
born.  The  second  wife  of  Augustine  was  Mary  Ball, 
and  their  first  child,  born  February  22,  1732,  was  named 
George  Washington. 

This  son  was  destined  to  establish,  with  stainless 
sword,  a  free  republic,  and  by  great  skill,  unfaltering 
faith,  and  sublime  patriotism  transfer  power  from  king 
to  people.  A  grateful  country  acknowledged  his  illus 
trious  services,  and  he  was  chosen  the  first  President  of 
the  United  States.  This  little  county  was  not  satisfied 
with  the  high  honor.  On  April  28,  1758,  James  Mon- 


2  GENERAL   LEE. 

roe  was  born  within  Us  limits.  He  became  a  distin 
guished  citizen,  served  as  an  officer  in  the  Revolution 
ary  War,  was  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
Virginia,  of  the  Congress  of  Confederation,  and  the  Vir 
ginia  Convention  called  in  June,  1778,  to  consider  the 
Federal  Constitution,  a  United  States  Senator,  envoy 
to  France,  England,  and  Spain,  twice  Governor  of  his 
native  State,  Secretary  of  State  in  Mr.  Madison's  admin 
istration,  and  President  of  the  republic  for  two  terms — 
from  1817  to  1825 — thus  adding,  by  a  long  and  merito 
rious  public  career,  additional  renown  to  the  county  of 
his  birth,  his  State,  and  his  country.  James  Madison, 
fourth  President  of  the  United  States,  was  born  in  the 
adjoining  county  of  King  George  seven  years  before 
Monroe,  and  but  a  few  miles  distant.  To  this  section, 
from  England,  came,  too,  the  Lees,  who  belonged  to  one 
of  the  oldest  families  in  the  mother  country,  its  mem 
bers  from  a  very  early  date  being  distinguished  for 
eminent  services  to  sovereign  and  country.  By  the  side 
of  William  the  Conqueror,  at  the  battle  of  Hastings,  in 
1066,  Lancelot  Lee  fought,  and  a  later  descendant,  Lionel 
Lee,  followed  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion,  taking  part  in  the 
third  crusade  to  Palestine,  in  1192,  at  the  head  of  a  com 
pany  of  "gentlemen  cavaliers,"  displaying  great  bravery 
at  the  siege  of  Acre. 

The  Lees  of  Virginia,  "  a  family  which  has,  perhaps, 
given  more  statesmen  and  warriors  to  their  new  home 
than  any  other  of  our  old  colonial  progenitors,"  came 
of  an  ancient  and  distinguished  stock  in  England,  and 
neither  country  can  boast  a  nobler  scion  than  the  sub 
ject  of  these  memoirs.  General  Lee  had  never  the  time 
or  inclination  to  study  genealogy,  and  always  said  he 
knew  nothing  beyond  his  first  American  ancestor,  Colo 
nel  Richard  Lee,  who  migrated  to  Virginia  in  the  reign 
of  Charles  I.  He  believed,  however,  from  his  inherited 
traditions  and  the  Coat  of  Arms  borne  by  his  progenitors 
in  this  country,  that  his  family  came  originally  from 
Shropshire,  England ;  and  when  the  world  rang  with  his 
name  and  fame,  and  he  paid  the  usual  penalty  of  great 
ness  by  being  besieged  with  reiterated  queries  respecting 
his  pedigree,  this  was  all  he  would  say.  Others,  how 
ever,  took  more  interest  in  the  subject ;  he  was  claimed 


ANCESTRY.  3 

by  the  Lees  of  Cheshire,  Oxfordshire,  Bucks,  and  Essex, 
as  well  as  of  Shropshire,  and  much  was  said  and  written 
pro  and  con  both  before  and  after  his  death. 

In  recent  years  his  genealogy  has  been  very  persist 
ently  and  thoroughly  investigated  by  those  learned  in 
antiquarian  research,  and  their  conclusion  is  in  favor  of 
Shropshire,  though  in  1663  the  first  emigrant,  Colonel 
Richard  Lee,  made  a  will  in  which  he  states  that  he  was 
"lately  of  Stafford  Langton  in  the  county  of  Essex." 
Now,  as  we  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  he  was  a 
younger  son,  the  parental  nest  was  probably  full ;  neither 
was  it  such  a  "  far  cry  "  from  Shropshire  to  the  near 
vicinity  of  London,  a  remove  preparatory,  possibly,  to 
the  still  greater  one  across  the  Atlantic.  He  certainly 
used  the  arms  of  the  Shropshire  Lees. 

Colonel  Lee's  devotion  to  the  House  of  Stuart  was 
notorious,  and  had  been  often  proved  even  by  the  man 
ner  of  dating  his  will — viz.,  "The  6th  of  February,  in 
the  sixteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  our  Sovereign  Lord, 
Charles  II,  King  of  Great  Britain,  etc.,  and  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  1663.*  Being  Secretary  of  State  and  Mem 
ber  of  the  Privy  Council  in  Virginia,  he  had  assisted  that 
stanch  royalist,  Governor  Berkeley,in  holding  the  col 
ony  to  its  allegiance,  so  that  after  the  death  of  Charles  I, 
Cromwell  was  forced  to  send  troops  and  armed  vessels 
of  war  to  reduce  it  to  subjection.  Unable  to  resist,  they 
made  a  treaty  with  the  "  Commonwealth  of  England," 
wherein  Virginia  was  described  as  an  "Independent  Do 
minion,"  this  treaty  being  ratified  in  the  same  manner 
as  with  a  foreign  power. 

Berkeley  was  then  removed  and  another  governor  ap 
pointed  ;  but  the  undaunted  Colonel  Richard  Lee  •*  hired 
a  Dutch  vessel,  freighted  it  himself,  went  to  Brussels  or 
Breda,  surrendered  up  Sir  William  Berkeley's  old  com 
mission — for  the  government  of  that  province — and  re 
ceived  a  new  one  from  his  present  Majesty,  Charles  II, 
"  a  loyal  action  and  deserving  my  commendation."  f  It 

*  The  "  Restoration,"  as  is  well  known,  only  occurred  in  1660,  so 
that  the  Virginian's  loyalty  utterly  ignored  the  long  years  of  exile,  and 
recognized  Charles  II  as  King  from  the  moment  of  his  father's  execution. 

f  Introductis  ad  Latinum  Blasoniam.  By  John  Gibbons,  Blue  Man 
tel,  London,  1682. 


4  GENERAL   LEE. 

is  also  said  that  he  offered  the  exiled  monarch  an  asy 
lum  in  the  New  World.  It  is  certain  that  on  the  death 
of  Cromwell  he  aided  Governor  Berkeley  in  proclaiming 
Charles  II  in  Virginia  King  of  England,  Scotland,  France, 
Ireland,  and  Virginia  two  years  before  his  "  restoration  " 
in  England.  In  consequence,  the  motto  to  the  Virginia 
Coat  of  Arms  was  u  En  dat  Virginia  quintam "  until 
after  the  union  of  England  and  Scotland,  when  it  was 
"  En  dat  Virginia  quartam." 

The  inscription  on  the  tombstone  of  the  second  Rich 
ard  Lee,  at  Burnt  House  Fields,  Mt.  Pleasant,  West 
moreland  County,  describes  him  as  belonging  to  an  "  an 
cient  and  noble  family  of  Morton  Regis  in  Shropshire." 
It  is  clearly  established  that  the  three  earliest  repre 
sentatives  of  the  family  in  America,  Colonel  Richard 
Lee  and  his  two  eldest  sons,  claimed  this  Shropshire 
County  descent. 

It  is  our  purpose  to  trace  the  Lees  in  America,  not  in 
England.  The  first  emigrant,  Colonel  Richard  Lee,  is 
described  as  a  man  of  good  stature,  of  comely  visage, 
enterprising  genius,  a  sound  head,  vigorous  spirit,  and 
generous  nature;  and  when  he  reached  Virginia,  at 
that  time  not  much  cultivated,  he  was  so  pleased  with 
the  country  that  he  made  large  settlements  with  the 
servants  who  accompanied  him.  To  his  credit  it  may 
be  added  that  when  he  returned  to  England,  some 
years  afterward,  he  "  gave  away  all  the  lands  he  had 
taken  up,  and  settled  at  his  own  expense,  to  the  serv 
ants  he  had  fixed  on  them,  some  of  whose  descendants 
are  now  possessed  of  very  considerable  estates  in  that 
colony." 

After  remaining  some  time  in  England  he  again 
visited  Virginia  with  a  fresh  band  of  followers  whom 
he  also  established  there.  He  first  settled  in  York  Coun 
ty  in  1641,  where  he  was  burgess  and  justice  in  1647, 
and  when  later  he  removed  to  the  "  Northern  Neck," 
between  the  Potomac  and  Rappahannock  Rivers,  he 
filled  the  offices  of  Secretary  of  State  and  Member  of 
the  Privy  Council.  Of  his  loyalty  to  the  house  of 
Stuart  we  have  already  spoken,  and  of  his  various  voy 
ages,  indicating  in  themselves  his  "enterprising  genius.  ' 
When  he  made  his  will  in  London,  in  1663,  he  was  re- 


ANCESTRY. 


5 


turning  on  what  proved  to  be  his  last  voyage.  He 
had  with  him  his  large,  young  family,  his  eldest 
son  John  not  yet  being  of  age;  but  he  was  so  de 
termined  to  establish  them  in  Virginia  that  he  ordered 
an  English  estate — Stratford — worth  eight  or  nine  hun 
dred  pounds  per  annum,  to  be  sold  and  the  money 
divided  between  his  heirs.  He  died  soon  after  his 
return,  and  as  John,  the  B.  A.  of  Oxford,  never  married, 
Richard,  the  second  son,  succeeded  to  the  homestead  in 
Westmoreland.  He  also  graduated  at  Oxford  in  law, 
and  was  distinguished  for  his  learning,  spending  almost 
his  whole  life  in  study.  On  October  15,  1667,  as  "  Major 
Richard  Lee,  a  loyal,  discreet  person  and  worthy  of  the 
place,"  he  was  appointed  member  of  the  council.  He 
was  born  in  1647,  married  Letitia  Corbin,  and  died  in 
1714,  leaving  five  sons  and  one  daughter.  His  eldest 
son,  Richard,  the  third  of  the  name,  married  and  settled 
in  London,  though  his  children  eventually  returned  to 
Virginia.  Philip  removed  to  Maryland  in  1700,  and  was 
the  progenitor  of  the  Lee  family  in  that  State.  Francis, 
the  third  son,  died  a  bachelor,  but  Thomas,  the  fourth, 
with  only  a  common  Virginia  education  (it  could  not 
have  been  much  in  those  days),  had  such  strong  natural 
parts  that  he  became  a  good  Latin  and  Greek  scholar, 
long  after  he  was  a  man,  without  any  assistance  but  his 
own  genius.  Though  a  younger  son,  with  only  a  limited 
patrimony,  by  his  "  industry  and  parts  "  he  acquired  a 
considerable  fortune,  was  a  member  of  the  council,  and 
so  well  known  and  respected  that  when  his  house  in 
Westmoreland  burned  down  Queen  Caroline  sent  him  a 
large  sum  of  money  out  of  her  privy  purse,  with  an 
autograph  letter.  Stratford  was  rebuilt  on  an  imposing 
scale,  and,  becoming  the  property  of  "  Light-Horse 
Harry,"  on  his  marriage  with  Matilda,  daughter  of 
Philip  Ludwell  Lee  and  granddaughter  of  Thomas,  was 
eventually  the  birthplace  of  General  R.  E.  Lee.  On  the 
recall  of  Sir  William  Gooch,  Thomas  became  president 
and  commander  in  chief  over  the  colony,  in  which  sta 
tion  he  continued  some  time,  until  the  King  thought 
proper  to  appoint  him  governor,  and  he  is  always 
spoken  of  as  the  first  native  governor,  though  he  died 
in  1750,  before  his  commission  could  reach  him.  He 


6  GENERAL   LEE. 

married  Hannah  Ludwell,  of  an  old  and  honorable 
Somersetshire  family,  originally  of  German  extraction, 
and  left  six  sons  and  two  daughters. 

Stratford  is  still  standing  in  Westmoreland  County, 
an  object  of  much  veneration  and  respect.  Within  its 
walls,  in  the  same  chamber,  two  signers  of  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence  were  born,  while  the  fact  that  Rob 
ert  Edward  Lee  first  saw  the  light  there  makes  it  yet 
more  interesting.  It  is  a  large,  stately  mansion,  built  in 
the  shape  of  the  letter  "  H,"  and  not  far  from  the  banks 
of  the  Potomac.  Upon  the  roof  were  summer  houses, 
with  chimneys  for  columns,  where  the  band  played  in 
the  evenings,  and  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  promenaded. 
Thomas  Lee  was  buried  at  Pope's  Creek  Church,  five 
miles  from  Stratford.  George  Washington  was  baptized 
at  this  church,  and  in  the  early  days  his  family,  the  Lees, 
Paynes,  and  other  prominent  families  of  the  neighbor 
hood  worshiped  there. 

It  has  been  said  that  as  Westmoreland  County  is  dis 
tinguished  above  all  other  counties  in  Virginia  as  the 
birthplace  of  genius,  so,  perhaps,  no  other  Virginian  could 
boast  so  many  distinguished  sons  as  President  Thomas 
Lee.  General  Washington,  in  1771,  wrote:  "I  know  of 
no  country  that  can  produce  a  family  all  distinguished 
as  clever  men,  as  our  Lees."  These  sons  in  order  of 
age  were :  Philip  Ludwell,  Richard  Henry,  Thomas, 
Francis  Lightfoot,  Henry,  and  Arthur.  Matilda,  the 
first  wife  of  General  Henry  Lee,  the  father  of  General 
Robert  E.  Lee,  was  the  daughter  of  the  eldest  son, 
Philip  Ludwell  Lee.  Richard  Henry  Lee,  the  second 
son,  is  well  known  to  students  of  American  history. 
He  has  been  generally  styled  "  The  Cicero  of  the 
American  Revolution."  He  moved  on  June  10,  1776, 
that  "  these  colonies  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free 
and  independent  States  " ;  and  with  his  brother  Francis 
Lightfoot  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
Having  moved  this  declaration,  according  to  parlia 
mentary  etiquette,  he  might  have  been  appointed  chair 
man  of  the  committee  to  draw  up  the  instrument,  but 
the  sickness  of  his  wife  called  him  home ;  or  he  might 
also  have  been  the  author  of  the  Declaration  of  American 
Independence  in  place  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  His  serv- 


ANCESTRY.  7 

ices  to  the  cause  of  the  colony  were  great,  and  their 
struggle  for  independence  was  sustained  by  his  tongue 
and  pen.  He  was  a  great  orator,  an  accomplished 
scholar,  a  learned  debater,  and  a  renowned  statesman 
in  that  period  of  our  country's  history.  His  father's 
brother,  Henry  Lee,  the  fifth  son  of  the  second  Richard, 
married  a  Miss  Bland,  a  great-aunt  of  John  Randolph, 
of  Roanoke.  His  only  daughter  married  a  Fitzhugh. 
His  son  Henry  married  Miss  Grymes,  and  left  a  family  of 
six  sons  and  four  daughters.  Henry,  the  eldest,  was  the 
well-known  "  Light-Horse  Harry  "  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  the  father  of  Robert  E.  Lee.  He  and  Richard 
Henry  Lee  are  frequently  confounded,  and  their  rela 
tionship  has  often  been  the  subject  of  inquiry.  Richard 
Henry  Lee's  father,  Thomas,  and  Henry  Lee's  grand 
father,  Henry,  were  brothers.  The  former  was  there 
fore  a  first  cousin  of  the  laser's  father.  "Light-Horse 
Harry  "  was  conspicuous  in  the  military  and  civil  annals 
of  his  country  as  a  dashing  dragoon  in  the  war  be 
tween  Great  Britain  and  the  colonies.  His  boldness 
and  activity  were  frequently  commended  by  Washington, 
and  he  came  out  of  the  war  with  a  brilliant  reputation. 
He  possessed  the  love  and  confidence  of  the  com 
mander  in  chief,  and  it  is  possible  that  Washington's 
interest  was  first  excited  because  he  was  once  supposed 
to  have  had  a  tender  feeling  for  Lucy  Grymes,  his 
mother,  a  friendship  which  was  continued  by  reason  of 
the  attractive  qualities  of  the  son  as  soldier  and  states 
man.  This  attachment  was  deeply  appreciated  by  Gen 
eral  Henry  Lee,  and  throughout  his  career  he  was  stead 
fast  in  his  devotion  to  Washington. 

"  Light-Horse  Harry's  "  father,  Henry  Lee,  of  Lee- 
sylvania,  and  Lucy  Grymes  were  married  at  Green 
Spring,  on  James  River,  December  i,  1753.  His  mother 
was  the  daughter  of  Lucy  Ludwell,  who  married  Colonel 
Grymes,  of  the  Council  of  Virginia.  Bishop  Porteus,  of 
England,  was  her  uncle.  Their  son  Henry  was  born 
January  29,  1756,  at  Leesylvania,  some  three  miles  from 
Dumfries,  a  village  built  by  Scotch  merchants,  and  then 
the  county  town  of  Prince  William.  His  brother, 
Charles  Lee  (not  to  be  confounded  with  General 
Charles  Lee,  an  Englishman,  and  no  relation  to  this 
2 


8  GENERAL   LEE. 

family),  was  subsequently  Attorney  General  in  Wash 
ington's  second  Cabinet.  The  future  cavalry  leader  was 
educated  at  Princeton.  Dr.  William  Shippen  writes  to 
Richard  Henry  Lee  from  Philadelphia,  August  25,  1770: 
"  I  am  persuaded  that  there  is  no  such  school  as  Prince 
ton  on  this  continent.  Your  cousin  Henry  Lee  is  in 
college,  and  will  be  one  of  the  first  fellows  in  this  coun 
try.  He  is  more  than  strict  in  his  morality,  has  fine 
genius,  and  is  diligent."  The  profession  of  law  was 
thought  best  for  the  display  of  his  talents,  and  he  was 
about  to  embark  for  England  to  study  it,  under  the 
direction  of  Bishop  Porteus,  of  London,  when  stopped 
by  hostilities  between  the  mother  country  and  her 
American  colonies. 

Possessing  fine  descriptive  powers,  application,  great 
facility  for  public  expression,  and  with  character  formed 
and  mind  trained  by  such  a  distinguished  light  of  the 
Church  of  England,  a  great  legal  future  would  seem  a 
safe  prediction  ;  but  before  the  smoke  cleared  away  from 
the  first  British  gun  fired  in  Massachusetts,  its  report 
was  heard  in  Virginia.  The  English  volley  lighted  patri 
otic  fires  in  the  hearts  of  the  colonists  with  the  rapidity 
electricity  flies  in  this  age  from  the  touch  of  the  button. 
The  sword  was  substituted  for  the  law  book  in  the 
hands  of  Henry  Lee,  and  we  find  him,  at  the  age  of  nine 
teen,  after  the  battle  of  Lexington,  a  captain  of  cavalry, 
being  nominated  for  that  position  by  Patrick  Henry,  the 
orator  of  American  liberty.  He  rose  rapidly  in  his  new 
career.  In  the  Northern  Department  at  Brandywine, 
Germantown,  Springfield,  and  in  the  operations  in  Penn 
sylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  New  York,  his  address,  cool 
courage,  great  ability,  and  unceasing  activity  as  an  out 
post  officer  speedily  drew  the  attention  of  his  superiors. 
Congress  recognized  his  services,  promoted  him,  and 
gave  him  an  independent  partisan  corps.  Ever  there 
after  his  position  in  the  war  was  near  the  flashing  of  the 
guns.  His  duties  kept  him  close  to  the  enemy's  lines, 
and  his  legion  was  what  cavalry  should  be — the  eyes 
and  ears  of  the  army.  His  communications  to  Washing 
ton  were  confidential,  were  sent  direct,  and  he  was  or 
dered  by  the  commander  in  chief  to  mark  them  "  Pri 
vate."  When  Washington  was  anxious  to  effect  Arnold's 


ANCESTRY.  g 

capture  he  consulted  the  commander  of  the  "  Light 
Horse,"  who  planned  the  famous  desertion  of  Sergeant 
Champe.  He  projected  and  executed  the  surprise  and 
capture  of  Paulus  Hook  by  a  brilliant  coup  de  main,  and 
for  prudence,  bravery,  and  tactical  skill  was  presented 
by  Congress  with  a  gold  medal  emblematical  of  his  suc 
cess — a  distinction  conferred  on  no  other  officer  below 
the  rank  of  general  during  the  war.  On  one  side  of  the 
medal  was  a  bust  of  the  hero,  with  the  words :  "  Henry 
Lee,  Legionis  Equit.  :  Prcefecto  Comitia  Americana"  and 
on  the  reverse  is  translated :  "  Nothwithstanding  rivers 
and  intrenchments,  he,  with  a  small  band,  conquered 
the  foe  by  warlike  skill  and  prowess,  and  firmly  bound, 
by  his  humanity,  those  who  had  been  conquered  by  his 
arms.  In  memory  of  the  conflict  at  Paulus  Hook,  i9th 
August,  1779." 

In  November,  1780,  he  was  promoted  to  be  lieu 
tenant  colonel  of  dragoons,  and  his  corps  is  spoken 
of  as  the  "  finest  that  made  its  appearance  in  the 
arena  of  the  Revolutionary  War."  Washington  had  it 
formed  expressly  for  him  of  equal  proportions  of  cav 
alry  and  infantry,  both  officers  and  men  being  picked 
from  the  army.  Under  its  victorious  guidons  rode 
Peter  Johnston,  the  father  of  the  distinguished  soldier, 
Joseph  Eggleston  Johnston,  who  joined  the  legion  when 
only  sixteen  years  old  and  led  the  forlorn  hope  at  the 
storming  of  Fort  Watson,  and  was  publicly  thanked. 
Afterward  he  became  a  judge,  and  was  celebrated  for 
his  learning  and  ability.  It  is  curious  that  the  sons  of 
Judge  Johnston  and  General  Henry  Lee  were  afterward 
classmates  at  the  United  States  Military  Academy,  and 
at  the  marriage  ceremony  of  Lee,  Johnston  was  a  grooms 
man.  These  two  eminent  soldiers  were  in  the  front  rank 
of  the  United  States  Army,  and  served  with  great  dis 
tinction  under  the  Southern  flag,  even  as  their  fathers 
rode  boot  to  boot  in  the  days  of  the  Revolution.  When 
Henry  Lee's  legion  was  selected  to  assist  in  the  defense 
of  the  Carolinas  and  the  Virginias  in  the  Southern  De 
partment,  Washington  wrote  to  Mr.  John  Matthews,  a 
member  of  Congress  from  South  Carolina,  informing  him 
of  its  march,  saying  :  "  Lee's  corps  will  go  to  the  south 
ward  ;  it  is  an  excellent  one,  and  the  officer  at  the  head 


10  GENERAL   LEE. 

of  it  has  great  reserves  of  genius."  Lafayette  held  the 
leader  of  the  legion  in  high  estimation,  and  bears  testi 
mony  to  his  "distinguished  services,"  his  "talents  as  a 
corps  commander,"  and  his  "handsome  exploits";  while 
one  of  the  general  officers  of  the  army  said  :  "  He  seemed 
to  have  come  out  of  his  mother's  womb  a  soldier."  Gen 
eral  Nathanael  Greene,  his  immediate  commander,  testi 
fied  that  "  few  officers,  either  in  America  or  Europe,  were 
held  in  so  high  a  point  of  estimation,"  in  a  letter  to  the 
President  of  Congress,  February  18,  1782,  expressed  him 
self  as  "  more  indebted  to  this  officer  [Lee]  than  any 
other  for  the  advantages  gained  over  the  enemy  in  the 
operations  of  the  last  campaign,"  and  in  a  letter  to  Lee 
himself  writes  :  "  No  man  in  the  progress  of  the  cam 
paign  had  equal  merit  with  yourself,  nor  is  there  one  so 
reported  ;  everybody  knows  I  have  the  highest  opinion 
of  you  as  an  officer,  and  you  know  I  love  you  as  a 
friend."  After  the  British  colors  were  lowered  at  York- 
town  Henry  Lee  began  a  civil  career  which  proved  to 
be  as  great  as  his  military  record.  In  1778  he  was  a 
member  of  the  convention  called  in  Virginia  to  con 
sider  the  ratification  of  the  Federal  Constitution.  In  the 
battle  of  intellectual  giants  composing  that  body,  with 
eloquence  and  zeal  he  pleaded  for  its  adoption.  By  his 
side,  and  voting  with  him  on  that  important  question, 
were  such  men  as  James  Madison,  John  Marshall,  after 
ward  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States,  and  Edmund 
Randolph  ;  while  in  the  ranks  of  the  opposition  stood 
Patrick  Henry  with  immense  oratorical  strength,  George 
Mason,  "  the  wisest  man,"  Mr.  Jefferson  said,  he  "  ever 
knew,"  Benjamin  Harrison,  William  Grayson,  and  others, 
who  thought  the  Constitution,  as  it  came  from  the  hands 
of  its  framers,  conferred  too  much  power  on  the  Federal 
Government  and  too  little  upon  its  creator,  the  States. 
In  1786  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress. 
From  1792  to  1795  he  was  Governor  of  Virginia,  and 
was  selected  by  President  Washington  to  command  the 
fifteen  thousand  men  from  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey, 
and  Maryland,  who  were  sent  into  western  Pennsylvania 
to  quell  what  was  known  as  the  "Whisky  Insurrection," 
which  he  successfully  accomplished  without  bloodshed. 


ANCESTRY.  !  r 

This  rebellion  grew  out  of  a  resistance  to  a  tax  laid  on 
distilled  spirits.  Washington  accompanied  him  on  the 
march  as  far  as  Bedford,  Pa.,  and  in  a  letter,  dated  Oc 
tober  20,  1794,  to  Henry  Lee,  Esq.,  commander  in  chief 
of  the  militia  army  on  its  march  against  the  insurgents 
in  certain  counties  of  western  Pennsylvania,  says  at  its 
conclusion  :  "  In  leaving  the  army  I  have  less  regret,  as 
I  know  I  commit  it  to  an  able  and  faithful  direction,  and 
that  this  direction  will  be  ably  and  faithfully  seconded 
by  all." 

While  Governor  of  Virginia,  a  section  lying  under  the 
Cumberland  Mountains,  projecting  between  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee,  was  formed  into  a  separate  county  and 
named  after  him.  It  has  since  been  divided  into  two, 
the  eastern  portion  being  called  after  General  Winfield 
Scott.  In  1779  General  Lee  was  elected  to  Congress, 
and  on  the  death  of  General  Washington  was  appointed 
to  deliver  an  address  in  commemoration  of  the  services 
of  that  great  man,  in  which  occurs  the  famous  sentence 
so  often  quoted :  "  First  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first 
in  the  hearts  of  his  fellow-citizens."*  In  i798-'99,  as  a 
representative  of  the  County  of  Westmoreland  in  the 
General  Assembly,  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  debate 
upon  Mr.  Madison's  famous  resolutions  of  that  date.  In 
his  opinion,  the  laws  of  the  United  States  then  under 
discussion  were  unconstitutional,  and  if  they  were,  Vir 
ginia  had  a  right  to  object;  "but,"  he  exclaimed,  "Vir 
ginia  is  my  country ;  her  will  I  obey,  however  lamenta 
ble  the  fate  to  which  it  may  subject  me." 

When  he  was  Governor  of  Virginia,  six  years  before, 
his  native  State  occupied  the  first  place  in  his  heart.  In 
reply  to  a  letter  from  Mr.  Madison,  dated  Philadelphia, 
January  21,  1792,  asking  him  if  he  would  relinquish  his 
office  and  accept  command  of  an  army  to  be  organized 
for  the  protection  of  the  western  frontier,  he  writes: 
"Were  I  called  upon  by  the  President  to  command  the 
next  campaign,  my  respect  for  him  would  induce  me  to 
disregard  every  trifling  obstruction  which  might  oppose 
my  acceptance  of  the  office,  such  as  my  own  repose,  the 

*  [In  this  popular  quotation  the  word  "  countrymen  "  is  almost  al 
ways  substituted  for  the  original  words  used  by  its  author,  Henry  Lee.] 
— EDITOR. 


12  GENERAL   LEE. 

care  of  my  children  and  the  happiness  I  enjoy  in  at 
tention  to  their  welfare,  and  in  the  execution  of  the 
duties  of  my  present  station.  As  a  citizen,  I  should 
hold  myself  bound  to  obey  the  will  of  my  country 
in  taking  any  part  her  interests  may  demand  from  me. 
Therefore  I  am,  upon  this  occasion,  in  favor  of  obedi 
ence  to  any  claim  which  may  be  made  on  me.  Yet 
I  should  require  some  essential  stipulations — only  to 
secure  a  favorable  issue  to  the  campaign."  After 
speaking  of  how  formidable  the  enemy  was,  he  adds : 
"  One  objection  I  should  only  have  (the  above  con 
ditions  being  acceded  to),  and  that  is,  the  abandon 
ing  of  my  native  county,  to  whose  goodness  I  am  so 
much  indebted ;  no  consideration  on  earth  could  induce 
me  to  act  a  part,  however  gratifying  to  me,  which  could 
be  construed  into  disregard  or  faithlessness  to  this 
Commonwealth." 

His  great  son  therefore  inherited  this  doctrine.  It 
was  branded  into  his  brain  and  flowed  through  his 
veins ;  so  that  later  when  he  had  to  meet  the  ques 
tion  of  serving  under  the  flag  of  the  United  States 
or  of  obeying  the  will  of  Virginia,  he  drew  his  sword 
in  defense  of  his  mother  Commonwealth.  When  the 
war  was  declared  with  England  in  1812,  Henry  Lee 
was  living  in  Alexandria,  having  moved  there  to  facili 
tate  the  education  of  his  children ;  he  was  offered,  and 
accepted  at  once,  a  major  general's  commission  in  the 
army.  Before  entering  upon  his  duties  he  went  to  Bal 
timore  on  business,  and  while  there  visited  the  house 
of  Mr.  Hanson,  the  editor  of  the  Federal  Republican. 
"When  he  was  about  to  leave  he  found  the  house  sur 
rounded  by  an  angry  mob,  who  were  offended  with  the 
editor  for  his  articles  in  opposition  to  the  war;  as  his 
friend's  life  was  threatened,  he  determined  to  assist  him 
in  resisting  the  attack  of  the  mob.  The  results  of  that 
night  proved  nearly  fatal  to  General  Lee,  and  were  dis 
graceful  to  party  spirit."  The  injuries  he  received  at 
the  hands  of  the  excited  mob  prevented  him  from  enter 
ing  upon  the  campaign,  obliged  him  to  go  to  the  West 
Indies  for  his  health,  and  ultimately  caused  his  death. 
While  abroad,  amid  the  fatal  march  of  his  disease,  his 
heart  turned  ever  to  his  home  and  family.  His  letters  to 


ANCESTRY.  !3 

his  son,  Charles  Carter  Lee,  have  been  preserved,  and  are 
literary  models,  the  object  being  to  impress  religion, 
morality,  and  learning  upon  his  children,  as  well  as  to 
manifest  his  great  affection  for  those  left  behind. 
"Fame,"  he  writes,  "in  arms  or  art,  is  naught  unless 
betrothed  to  virtue."  And  then  :  "You  know  I  love  my 
children,  and  how  dear  Smith*  is  to  me.  Give  me  a  true 
description  of  his  mind,  temper,  and  habits.  Tell  me  of 
Anne.  Has  she  grown  tall  ?  And  how  is  my  last,  in  looks 
and  understanding  ?  Robert  was  always  good,  and  will 
be  confirmed  in  his  happy  turn  of  mind  by  his  ever-watch 
ful  and  affectionate  mother ;  does  he  strengthen  his  na 
tive  tendency?"  He  wanted  to  know,  too,  whether  his 
sons  rode  and  shot  well,  bearing  in  mind  a  Virginian's 
solicitude  always  that  his  sons  should  be  taught  to  ride, 
shoot,  and  tell  the  truth. 

In  his  opinion,  Hannibal  was  a  greater  soldier  than 
Alexander  or  Caesar;  for  he  thought  an  ardent  excite 
ment  of  the  mind  in  defending  menaced  rights  brings 
forth  the  greatest  display  of  genius,  of  which,  forty- 
four  years  after-ward,  his  great  son  was  an  illustrious 
example.  On  June  18,  1817,  from  Nassau,  he  writes: 
"  This  is  the  day  of  the  month  when  your  dear  mother 
became  my  wife,  and  it  is  not  so  hot  in  this  tropical 
region  as  it  was  then  at  Shirley.  Since  that  happy  day, 
marked  only  by  the  union  of  two  humble  lovers,  it  has 
become  conspicuous  as  the  day  our  war  with  Great 
Britain  was  declared  in  Washington,  and  the  one  that 
sealed  the  doom  of  Bonaparte  on  the  field  of  Waterloo. 
The  British  general,  rising  gradatim  from  his  first  blow 
struck  in  Portugal,  climbed  on  that  day  to  the  summit 
of  fame,  and  became  distinguished  by  the  first  of  titles, 
'  Deliverer  of  the  Civilized  World.'  Alexander,  Hannibal, 
and  Caesar,  among  the  ancients;  Marlborough,  Eugene, 
Turenne,  and  Frederick,  among  the  moderns,  opened 
their  arms  to  receive  him  as  a  brother  in  glory." 

Again  he  tells  him  "  that  Thales,  Pittacus,  and  others 
in  Greece  taught  the  doctrine  of  morality  almost  in  our 
very  words,  *  Do  unto  others  as  you  would  they  should 
do  unto  you,'  and  directs  his  son's  attention  to  the  fact 

*  Sydney  Smith  Lee,  of  the  navy. 


!4  GENERAL   LEE. 

that  the  beautiful  Arab  couplet,  written  three  centuries 
before  Christ,  announced  the  duty  of  every  good  man, 
even  in  the  moment  of  destruction,  not  only  to  forgive, 
but  to  benefit  the  destroyer,  as  the  sandal  tree,  in  the 
instant  of  its  overthrow,  sheds  perfume  on  the  axe  that 
fells  it."  The  principles  sought  to  be  inculcated  in 
these  admirable  letters  will  be  found  running  through 
their  lives,  lodged  firmly  in  their  characters,  and  their 
constant  reappearance  in  the  life  of  one  of  them  is  an 
evidence  of  the  impression  made. 

At  the  expiration  of  nearly  five  years,  finding  that 
there  was  no  hope  of  his  ultimate  recovery,  he  deter 
mined  to  return  to  his  family  and  friends.  In  January, 
1818,  he  took  passage  in  a  New  England  schooner 
bound  from  Nassau  to  New  Providence  and  Boston. 
On  nearing  the  coast  of  the  United  States  he  became  so 
much  worse  that  he  requested  the  captain  to  direct  his 
course  to  Cumberland  Island,  lying  off  the  coast  of 
Georgia.  He  knew  that  his  former  trusted  friend,  Gen 
eral  Nathanael  Greene,  had  an  estate  there,  and  that 
there  resided  his  married  daughter,  Mrs.  James  Shaw. 
Next  to  dying  within  the  limits  of  his  native  State  he 
preferred  to  furl  the  flag  of  a  celebrated  career  under 
the  generous  roof  and  kindly  influence  of  the  hospitable 
daughter  of  a  beloved  brother  soldier.  He  was  landed 
at  "  Dungeness,"  known  as  the  most  beautiful  and  at 
tractive  residence  on  the  Georgia  coast,  and  here  he 
was  lovingly  received  and  tenderly  cared  for.  From 
the  window  of  his  sick-room  "  an  extensive  view  of  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  of  Cumberland  Sound,  and  the  low-lying 
verdant  shores  of  Georgia  could  be  seen  upon  the  one 
side,  while  upon  the  other  lay  attractive  gardens  and 
groves  of  oranges  and  olives,  while  grand  live  oaks 
swayed  solemnly  to  and  fro  loaded  with  pendent  moss." 

General  Henry  Lee's  sufferings,  consequent  upon  the 
injuries  received  in  Baltimore,  were  intense.  Mrs.  Shaw, 
General  Greene's  daughter,  said  that  after  his  arrival  at 
"Dungeness"  they  still  continued,  and  that  a  surgical 
operation  was  proposed  as  offering  some  hope  of  pro 
longing  his  life  ;  but  he  replied  that  an  eminent  physi 
cian,  to  whose  skill  and  care  during  his  sojourn  in  the 
West  Indies  he  was  much  indebted,  had  disapproved  a 


ANCESTRY.  15 

resort  to  the  proposed  operation.  His  surgeon  in  at 
tendance  still  urging  it,  he  put  an  end  to  the  discussion 
by  saying :  "  My  dear  sir,  were  the  great  Washington 
alive  and  here,  joining  you  in  advocating  it,  I  would 
still  resist."  His  agony  at  times  was  very  great,  causing 
irritation  to  overcome  his  rarely  failing  amiability.  At 
times  he  would  lose  self-control  and  order  his  servants 
and  every  one  else  from  the  room.  At  length  an  old 
woman  who  had  been  Mrs.  Greene's  favorite  maid,  and 
who  was  then  an  esteemed  and  privileged  family  servant, 
was  selected  to  wait  upon  him.  The  first  thing  General 
Lee  did  as  she  entered  his  room  was  to  hurl  his  boot 
at  her  head  and  order  her  out.  Entirely  unused  to  such 
treatment,  without  saying  a  word  she  deliberately 
picked  up  the  boot  and  threw  it  back.  The  effect  pro 
duced  was  marked  and  instantaneous.  The  features  of 
the  stern  warrior  relaxed,  in  the  midst  of  his  pain  and 
anger  a  smile  passed  over  his  countenance,  and  from 
that  moment  to  the  day  of  his  death  he  would  permit 
no  one  except  "  Mom  Sarah  "  to  do  him  special  service. 
In  the  presence. of  the  angel  of  death  he  recognized 
and  rewarded  pluck  and  spirit  in  an  old  negro  nurse, 
even  as  he  did  courage  in  the  breasts  of  his  soldiers. 

Not  the  least  among  the  recollections  of  "  Dunge- 
ness  "  is  the  fact  that  the  last  days  of  one  of  the  great 
heroes  of  the  Revolution  were  passed  there ;  and  when 
the  "  flowers  of  spring  could  no  longer  charm  by  their 
beauty  and  fragrance,  or  the  soft  southern  wind  bring 
health  and  surcease  of  pain  to  the  suffering  and  dying, 
it  received  into  its  hospitable  bosom  and  folded  in  one 
long  and  affectionate  embrace  all  that  was  mortal  of  the 
gallant,  gifted,  and  honored  dead."  Henry  Lee  and 
Nathanael  Greene  now  sleep  but  a  short  distance  apart, 
where  the  "  recollections  of  their  brave  deeds  and  the 
grateful  songs  of  the  true  lovers  of  liberty  are  caught 
up  by  the  billows  of  a  common  ocean."  Two  months 
after  the  sick  soldier  landed  he  was  dead.  Every  token 
of  respect  was  shown  by  the  United  States  Navy  vessels 
in  Cumberland  Sound ;  their  colors  were  put  at  half- 
mast,  as  well  as  the  flags  at  the  military  headquarters 
of  the  army  on  Amelia  Island.  Citizens  from  the  adjoin 
ing  islands  united  in  paying  their  respects.  Commodore 


!6  GENERAL  LEE. 

Henley,  of  the  navy,  superintended  the  last  details.  A 
full  army  band  was  in  attendance,  and  Captains  Elton, 
Finch,  and  Madison,  and  Lieutenants  Fitzhugh  and 
Ritchie,  of  the  navy,  and  Mr.  Lyman,  of  the  army,  acted 
as  pall-bearers.  Upon  the  stone  marking  his  grave  is 
this  inscription :  "  Sacred  to  the  Memory  of  General 
Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia.  Obiit  March  25,  1818,  y£tat  63." 

Not  long  before  the  war  of  i86i-'65  the  Legislature 
of  Virginia  passed  resolutions  for  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  who,  with  the  consent  of  his  sons,  should  re 
move  the  remains  to  the  capital  city  of  Virginia,  where 
a  suitable  monument  would  be  erected  to  his  memory. 
The  commencement  of  hostilities  prevented  the  accom 
plishment  of  this  purpose.  The  sad  duty  had  not  been 
performed  before  by  his  sons,  because  one,  Major  Henry 
Lee,  was  abroad,  one  was  an  officer  of  the  army,  another 
of  the  navy,  the  fourth  a  lawyer,  and  their  respective 
duties  kept  them  widely  apart,  so  that  the  matter,  though 
frequently  referred  to  in  their  correspondence,  had  never 
been  fully  arranged.  The  remains  of  "  Light-Horse 
Harry,"  therefore,  still  rest  amid  the  magnolias,  cedars, 
and  myrtles  of  beautiful  "  Dungeness." 

In  many  respects  this  officer  was  one  of  the  most  re 
markable  men  of  his  day.  He  was  a  patriot  and  soldier, 
whose  personal  courage  was  tested  in  the  fire  of  battle; 
an  orator,  a  writer  of  vigorous  and  terse  English,  with  a 
happy  facility  for  expression  rarely  equaled.  His  book, 
called  the  Memoirs  of  the  War  of  "  76,"  is  the  standard 
work  to-day  of  events  in  the  war  in  the  Southern  Depart 
ment  of  the  United  States.  Two  editions  of  it  had  been  ex 
hausted,  and  in  1869  a  third  was  issued  by  his  son,  R.  E. 
Lee,  who,  forgetful  of  his  own  great  deeds,  was  desirous 
only  of  perpetuating  those  of  his  distinguished  father. 

General  Henry  Lee  was  twice  married :  first  to  Ma 
tilda,  the  daughter  of  Philip  Ludwell  Lee,  of  Stratford, 
and  afterward  to  Anne  Hill  Carter,  daughter  of  Charles 
Hill  Carter,  of  Shirley.  Four  children  were  born  from 
the  first  marriage.  The  eldest  was  named  after  his  be 
loved  commander,  General  Nathanael  Greene,  and  died 
in  infancy.  The  second  son  died  when  ten  years  old. 
The  miniature  of  this  child  he  always  thereafter  wore, 
and  it  is  still  preserved  in  the  family.  The  third 


ANCESTRY.  if 

Henry,  was  born  in  1787,  and  died  in  Paris,  France, 
January  30,  1837.  He  graduated  at  William  and  Mary 
College,  and  served  with  credit  in  the  War  of  1812.  He 
was  appointed  by  General  Jackson  Consul  to  Algiers  in 
1829.  In  journeying  through  Italy  he  met  the  mother 
of  the  great  Napoleon,  and,  being  an  admirer  of  his 
Italian  campaigns,  determined  to  write  his  life;  the  book 
is  well  written,  as  are  other  works  of  his. 

The  daughter  married  Bernard  Carter,  a  brother 
of  her  stepmother.  The  children  by  General  Henry 
Lee's  second  marriage  were  Algernon  Sydney,  Charles 
Carter,  Sydney  Smith,  and  Robert  Edward,  and  two 
daughters,  Anne  and  Mildred.  The  first  boy  lived  only 
eighteen  months.  The  second,  named  after  his  wife's 
father,  was  educated  at  Cambridge.  "We  have  just 
heard,"  writes  his  father  from  San  Domingo,  June  26, 
1816,  "  that  you  are  fixed  at  the  University  of  Cambridge, 
the  seminary  of  my  choice.  You  will  there  have  not 
only  excellent  examples  to  encourage  your  love  and  prac 
tice  of  virtue,  but  ample  scope  to  pursue  learning  to  its 
foundation,  thereby  fitting  yourself  to  be  useful  to  your 
country."  Charles  Carter  Lee  afterward  studied  law, 
and  was  a  most  intellectual,  learned,  and  entertaining 
man.  His  social  qualities  were  of  the  highest  order,  his 
humor  inimitable ;  his  classic  wit  flowed,  as  clear  as  the 
mountain  stream,  from  a  well-stored  mind.  He  was  a 
boon  companion  and  the  first  guest  invited  to  the  ban 
quet  ;  around  him  all  clustered,  and  from  his  vicinity 
peals  of  laughter  always  resounded.  His  speeches, 
songs,  and  stories  are  marked  traditions  in  the  family 
to-day.  Gifted  with  a  most  retentive  memory,  and 
being  a  great  reader,  especially  of  history,  his  recollec 
tion  of  all  he  had  read  made  him  a  most  instructive 
and  agreeable  companion.  Every  subject  received  its 
best  treatment  from  his  genius.  He  was  thoroughly 
conversant  with  biblical  literature,  and  had  been  known 
to  maintain  the  leading  part  in  discussions  of  the  Bible 
with  a  roomful  of  ministers  whose  duty  it  was  to  expound 
it.  In  every  drawing-room  his  presence  was  most  warmly 
welcomed.  At  every  festive  board  his  song  or  speech 
was  hailed  with  enthusiastic  greeting.  He  was  clever, 
generous,  liberal,  and  free-hearted.  When  paying  visits 


!8  GENERAL   LEE. 

with  his  brothers — and  the  three  often  went  together — 
should  wine  happen  to  be  offered,  Smith  and  Robert 
with  their  usual  abstemiousness  would  decline  ;  Carter, 
however,  would  accept,  remarking:  "I  have  always  told 
these  boys  that  I  would  drink  their  share  of  wine,  pro 
vided  they  would  keep  me  generously  supplied."  He 
wrote,  too,  with  beauty  and  fluency  of  expression,  and 
once  said  to  his  brother  Robert :  "  The  Government  em 
ploys  you  to  do  its  fighting  ;  it  should  engage  me  to 
write  your  reports.  I  admit  your  superiority  in  the  ex 
ercise  of  the  sword  and  in  planning  campaigns.  I  am, 
however,  as  you  know,  the  better  writer  of  the  two,  and 
can  make  my  pen  mightier  than  your  sword  after  the  bat 
tle  is  over.  We  could  thus  combine  and  be  irresistible/' 
He  died,  and  was  buried  at  his  country  seat,  Windsor  For 
est,  in  Powhatan  County.  The  third  son,  Sydney  Smith, 
entered  the  United  States  Navy  at  an  early  age,  and 
served  with  marked  distinction  in  that  service  for  thirty- 
four  years.  When  Virginia  withdrew  from  the  Union  of 
States  he  accepted  service  in  the  Southern  navy. 

A  daughter  of  General  R.  E.  Lee  writes  of  him:  "  No 
one  who  ever  saw  him  can  forget  his  beautiful  face, 
charming  personality,  and  grace  of  manner,  which,  joined 
to  a  nobility  of  character  and  goodness  of  heart,  at 
tracted  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him,  and  made  him 
the  most  generally  beloved  and  popular  of  men.  This 
was  especially  so  with  regard  to  women,  to  whom  his 
conduct  was  that  of  a preux  chevalier,  the  most  chivalric 
and  courteous  ;  and,  having  no  daughters  of  his  own, 
he  turned  with  the  tenderest  affection  to  the  daughters 
of  his  brother  Robert.  His  public  service  of  more  than 
thirty  years  in  the  navy  of  the  United  States  is  well 
known.  He  entered  it  as  a  boy  of  fifteen,  and  faithfully 
served  his  country  by  land  and  sea  in  many  climes  and  on 
many  oceans.  He  was  in  Japan  with  Commodore  Perry, 
commanding  his  flagship,  when  that  inaccessible  coun 
try  was  practically  opened  to  the  commerce  of  the 
world.  He  was  Commandant  of  the  Naval  Academy  at 
Annapolis,  and  afterward  in  command  of  the  navy  yard 
at  Philadelphia.  When  the  war  of  secession  began  he 
was  stationed  in  Washington,  but  when  Virginia  seceded 
he  did  not  hesitate  to  abandon  the  comforts  and  security 


ANCESTRY.  ig 

of  the  present  and  ambitions  of  the  future  and  cast 
his  lot  with  his  native  State  in  a  war  which,  from 
the  very  nature  of  things,  there  could  be  but  little 
hope  for  a  naval  officer.  Uninfluenced  then  by  hope  of 
either  fame  or  fortune,  he  sadly  parted  with  the  friends 
and  comrades  of  a  lifetime,  including  General  Scott, 
who  had  been  likewise  devoted  to  him  as  he  was  to  his 
brother,  and  for  four  years  served  the  Southern  Confed 
eracy  with  the  same  ardor  and  energy  and  unselfishness 
that  he  had  previously  given  to  the  whole  country.  When 
the  end  came  he  accepted  the  situation  with  character 
istic  resignation  and  fortitude." 

The  eldest  daughter  married  Mr.  William  Marshall, 
and  lived  in  Baltimore.  When  the  war  cloud  over 
shadowed  the  land,  Judge  Marshall  was  ardently  devoted 
to  the  cause  of  the  Union ;  their  only  son  was  educated 
at  West  Point,  and  remained  in  the  army  of  the  United 
States  during  the  war  which  followed.  It  was  natural, 
therefore,  that  the  wife's  sympathies  in  the  pending 
struggle  should  be  with  husband  and  child.  For  many 
years  she  was  a. great  invalid  and  rarely  left  her  couch. 
Sick  and  tortured  with  conflicting  emotions,  her  days 
were  days  of  trial.  It  is  said  she  would  smilingly  agree 
with  her  husband  in  the  hope  that  the  armies  of  the 
United  States  would  gain  victories  over  the  troops  of 
the  South,  and  then  into  a  thousand  pieces  dash  all 
former  arguments  by  shaking  her  head  and  saying: 
"  But,  after  all,  they  can't  whip  Robert."  It  was  the  tri 
umph  of  ties  of  consanguinity  over  all  other  bonds.  Mil 
dred,  the  youngest  daughter,  married  Mr.  Edward  Ver- 
non  Childe,  of  Massachusetts,  who  removed  to  and  lived 
in  Paris,  where  she  died,  where  her  children  were  brought 
up  and  educated.  The  eldest  son,  Edward  Lee  Childe, 
possessing  an  excellent  education,  fine  literary  ability, 
and  a  love  for  the  memory  of  his  great  uncle,  wrote  a 
life  of  him  in  French,  which  has  been  well  received  by 
the  people  of  that  country,  and  was  translated  into  Eng 
lish,  in  1875,  by  Mr.  George  Litting,  of  London. 


CHAPTER   II. 

BIRTH. CAREER     AS     OFFICER      OF      ENGINEERS,     UNITED 

STATES    ARMY. 

SEVENTY-FIVE  years  after  the  birth  of  Washington, 
Robert  Edward,  the  fourth  son  of  General  Henry  Lee 
and  Anne  Hill  Carter,  was  born  at  Stratford,  Westmore 
land  County,  Virginia,  on  the  igth  of  January,  1807.  If 
he  inherited  much  from  a  long  and  illustrious  line  of 
paternal  ancestors,  he  no  less  fell  heir  to  the  strong 
characteristics  of  his  mother's  family,  one  of  the  oldest 
and  best  in  Virginia.  The  unselfishness,  generosity, 
purity,  and  faithfulness  of  the  Virginia  Carters  are  wide 
ly  known,  and  they  have  always  been  "  true  to  all  occa 
sions  true."  In  his  mother  was  personified  all  the  gentle 
and  sweet  traits  of  a  noble  woman.  Her  whole  life  was 
admirable,  and  her  love  for  her  children  beyond  all  other 
thoughts.  To  her  watchful  care  they  were  early  con 
fided  by  the  long  absence  and  death  of  her  distinguished 
husband. 

Robert  was  four  years  old  when  his  father  removed 
the  family  to  Alexandria,  six  when  he  visited  the  West 
Indies  for  his  health,  and  eleven  when  he  died.  If  he 
was  early  trained  in  the  way  he  should  go,  his  mother 
trained  him.  If  he  was  "  always  good,"  as  his  father 
wrote,  she  labored  to  keep  him  so.  If  his  principles 
were  sound  and  his  life  a  success,  to  her,  more  than 
to  any  other,  should  the  praise  be  given.  This  lovely 
woman,  as  stated,  was  the  daughter  of  Charles  Carter, 
of  Shirley,  who  resided  in  his  grand  old  mansion  on  the 
banks  of  the  James  River,  some  twenty  miles  below 
Richmond,  then,  as  now,  the  seat  of  an  open,  profuse, 
and  refined  hospitality,  and  still  in  the  possession  of  the 
Carters.  Mrs.  Henry  Lee's  mother  was  Anne  Moore, 

(20) 


BIRTH.— CAREER  AS   OFFICER   OF   ENGINEERS.     21 

and  her  grandmother  a  daughter  of  Alexander  Spotts- 
wood,  the  soldier  who  fought  with  Maryborough  at  Blen 
heim,  and  was  afterward  sent  to  Virginia  as  governor 
in  1710,  and  whose  descent  can  be  traced  in  a  direct 
line  from  King  Robert  the  Bruce,  of  Scotland. 

Robert  Edward  Lee  could  look  back  on  long  lines 
of  paternal  and  maternal  ancestors,  but  it  is  doubtful 
whether  he  ever  exercised  the  privilege ;  in  a  letter  to 
his  wife,  written  in  front  of  Petersburg,  February,  1865, 
he  says :  "  I  have  received  your  note.  I  am  very  much 

obliged  to  Mr.  for  the  trouble  he  has  taken  in 

relation  to  the  Lee  genealogy.  I  have  no  desire  to 
have  it  published,  and  do  not  think  it  would  afford 
sufficient  interest  beyond  the  immediate  family  to  com 
pensate  for  the  expense.  I  think  the  money  had  better 
be  applied  to  relieving  the  poor.  .  .  ." 

He  felt  a  natural  pride  in  their  achievements,  but 
no  one  knew  better  than  he  that  in  a  republic,  and  in 
a  great  war,  a  man's  ancestry  could  not  help  him,  but 
that  place  and  promotion  depended  upon  individual 
merit.  His  lineage  has  been  traced  because  the  de 
scent  of  a  celebrated  man  excites  attention,  just  as  it 
is  interesting  to  discover  the  source  of  a  noble  river 
whose  blessings  to  commerce  can  not  be  measured.  In 
consequence  of  the  absence  of  the  elder  brothers,  the 
ill  health  of  one  sister,  and  the  youth  of  another,  to 
Robert's  care,  in  a  measure,  his  mother  was  committed. 
After  his  father's  departure  to  the  tropics  she  watched 
over  his  daily  life  with  tender  solicitude,  and  he  was, 
she  said,  both  a  daughter  and  a  son  to  her.  With  filial 
devotion  to  her  comfort  his  hours  out  of  school  were 
given.  He  waited  on  her,  nursed  her  when  sick,  drove 
with  her,  obeyed  her  every  wish,  and  this  reciprocal  love 
was  a  goodly  picture  in  old  Alexandria  to  those  who 
saw  mother  and  son  in  those  days.  As  Robert  grew  in 
years  he  grew  in  grace  ;  he  was  like  the  young  tree 
whose  roots,  firmly  imbedded  in  the  earth,  hold  it 
straight  from  the  hour  it  was  first  planted  till  it  de 
velops  into  majestic  proportions.  With  the  fostering 
care  of  such  a  mother  the  son  must  go  straight,  for  she 
had  planted  him  in  the  soil  of  truth,  morality,  and  re 
ligion,  so  that  his  boyhood  was  marked  by  everything 


22  GENERAL   LEE. 

that  produces  nobility  of  character  in  manhood.  The 
handsome  boy  was  studious  and  sedate,  was  popular 
with  other  boys,  stood  high  in  the  estimation  of  his 
teachers,  and  his  early  inspiration  was  good,  for  his  first 
thoughts  were  directed  upon  lofty  subjects  by  an  excel 
lent  mother. 

His  birthplace  and  that  of  Washington  were  not  only 
in  the  same  county  but  only  a  shcrt  distance  apart.  The 
landscape  of  that  section  of  Virginia  was  the  first  that 
greeted  the  eyes  of  each.  The  Potomac  River,  in  all 
its  grandeur  and  beauty,  flowed  past  Stratford  as  well 
as  Pope's  Creek.  Alexandria  afterward  became  his  town, 
as  it  had  before  been  the  town  of  Washington.  The  mar 
ried  life  of  the  two  was  respectively  passed  at  Mount 
Vernon  and  Arlington,  the  same  river  rolling  at  their 
feet,  while  the  old  town  stood  dignified  and  historic  be 
tween  the  mansions  proudly  connecting  the  name  and 
fame  of  their  occupants. 

Robert  went  first  to  the  Alexandria  Academy,  being 
under  the  tuition  of  Mr.  Leary,  who  was  ever  after  his 
firm  friend.  Later  he  attended  the  famous  school  of 
Mr.  Benjamin  Hallowell,  in  Alexandria,  whose  house, 
still  standing,  is  yet  conducted  as  a  popular  school. 
Ben.  Hallowell  was  a  Quaker  of  the  Quakers.  His 
school  stood  high  ;  so  did  he  as  a  teacher.  "  Brimstone 
Castle  "  the  boys  called  it,  on  account  of  its  color.  Mr. 
Hallowell  says  that  young  Lee  was  an  exemplary  stu 
dent,  perfectly  observant  and  respectful,  and  those  who 
knew  him,  either  in  the  charm  of  the  domestic  circle  or 
amid  the  roar  of  battle,  knew  that  good  old  Mr.  Hallo- 
well's  opinion  must  have  been  correct. 

The  time  had  now  arrived  to  select  a  profession,  and 
to  the  army  his  inclination  pointed — a  direction  which 
probably  resulted  from  a  son's  desire  to  follow  in  his 
father's  footsteps,  especially  when  that  father  had  been 
so  distinguished  in  the  profession.  He  was  now  a  mod 
est,  manly  youth,  in  his  eighteenth  year,  who  resolved 
to  take  care  of  himself  and  relieve  his  mother  to  that 
extent.  His  father's  career  had  reflected  credit  upon 
his  country;  could  he  not  hope  to  do  the  same?  Syd 
ney  Smith  Lee,  his  next  oldest  brother,  had  already 
entered  the  navy,  and  was  supporting  himself ;  so  he 


BIRTH.— CAREER   AS   OFFICER   OF   ENGINEERS.    23 

decided  to  go  in  the  army.  The  application  for  an  ap 
pointment  to  the  United  States  Military  Academy  was 
successful,  and  in  1825  his  name  was  entered  upon  the 
rolls  of  that  celebrated  institution.  He  had  now  four 
years  of  hard  study,  vigorous  drill,  and  was  absorbing 
strategy  and  tactics  to  be  useful  to  him  in  after-years. 
His  excellent  habits  and  close  attention  to  all  duties 
did  not  desert  him  ;  he  received  no  demerits  ;  was  a 
cadet  officer  in  his  class,  and  during  his  last  year  held 
the  post  of  honor  in  the  aspirations  of  cadet  life — the 
adjutancy  of  the  corps.  He  graduated  second  in  a  class 
of  forty-six,  and  was  commissioned  second  lieutenant 
in  the  Corps  of  Engineers.  It  is  interesting  to  notice 
that  his  eldest  son,  George  Washington  Custis  Lee,  also 
entered  the  Military  Academy  twenty-five  years  after 
his  father,  was  also  the  cadet  adjutant,  graduated  first 
in  his  class,  and  was  assigned  to  the  Engineer  Corps. 
During  his  whole  course  at  West  Point  Robert  was  a 
model  cadet,  his  clothes  looked  nice  and  new,  his  cross- 
belts,  collar,  and  summer  trousers  were  as  white  as  the 
driven  snow  mounting  guard  upon  the  mountain  top, 
and  his  brass  breast  and  waist  plates  were  mirrors  to 
reflect  the  image  of  the  inspector.  He  conscientiously 
performed  his  tours  of  guard  duty,  whether  the  non 
commissioned  officer  of  the  guard  was  approaching  his 
post  or  sleeping  in  his  quarters.  He  never  "  ran  the 
sentinel  post,"  did  not  go  off  the  limits  to  the  "  Benny 
Havens  "  of  his  day,  or  put  "  dummies  "  in  his  bed,  to 
deceive  the  officer  in  charge  as  he  made  his  inspection 
after  taps,  and  at  the  parades  stood  steady  in  line.  It 
was  a  pleasure  for  the  inspecting  officer  to  look  down 
the  barrel  of  his  gun,  it  was  bright  and  clean,  and  its 
stock  was  rubbed  so  as  to  almost  resemble  polished 
mahogany. 

Cadet  Lee  in  1829  became  Lieutenant  Lee  of  the 
Engineer  Corps  of  the  United  States  Army.  The  cadets 
who  graduate  in  each  class  with  first  honors  are  as 
signed  to  it,  and  its  ranks  are  kept  full  of  first-class 
material ;  its  members  are  composed  of  students  who 
obey  the  regulations,  are  proficient  in  their  studies,  and 
receive  few  demerits.  From  this  scientific  corps  dis 
tinguished  men  and  great  soldiers  have  issued,  and  to 
3 


24  GENERAL   LEE. 

be  an  officer  of  the  United  States  Engineer  Corps  is  a 
passport  everywhere. 

A  short  time  previous  to  the  late  war  a  number  of 
officers  of  the  different  arms  of  service  were  assembled 
in  one  of  the  rooms  at  West  Point.  The  conversation 
turned,  as  it  often  did,  upon  the  relative  merits  of  the 
different  arms  of  services,  each  officer  contending  for 
his  own  branch ;  finally  an  officer  of  infantry,  who 
afterward  became  a  distinguished  major  general  in  the 
army  of  the  United  States,  said  :  "You  gentlemen  who 
graduate  at  the  head  of  your  respective  classes  are  of 
opinion  that  you  are  the  most  talented,  and  possibly 
>vill  make  the  best  soldiers  and  most  intelligent  officers 
of  the  army ;  you  will  find,  however,  that  should  war 
actually  take  place  between  the  Northern  and  South 
ern  States,  and  you  get  in  a  tight  place  on  the  field  of 
battle,  you  can  not  work  yourself  out  with  equations" 
All  of  which  is  very  true.  A  courier  has  been  known 
to  tell  his  superior  officer  how  to  extricate  his  troops 
in  a  perilous  position  under  fire,  because  he  had  more 
military  perception,  though  less  education  and  engi 
neering  skill. 

Great  soldiers,  like  poets,  are  born,  not  made.  Mili 
tary  training,  discipline,  the  study  of  strategy,  and 
grand  tactics  are  powerful  re-enforcements  to  natural 
genius.  All  the  army  commanders  from  1861  to  1865, 
on  either  side,  were  West  Point  graduates ;  but  many 
West  Pointers  were  indifferent  officers;  on  the  other 
hand,  others  climbed  high  on  Fame's  military  ladder 
who  never  attended  a  military  school.  Generals  Logan 
and  Terry  on  the  Northern,  and  Generals  Forrest  and 
Gordon  on  the  Southern  side,  were  distinguished  exam 
ples;  but  if  to  their  soldierly  qualifications  a  military 
education  had  been  added,  their  ascent  to  distinction 
would  have  been  greatly  facilitated. 

Lieutenant  Lee  entered  upon  the  usual  life  of  a 
young  officer  of  engineers;  his  chosen  profession  had  his 
earnest  attention,  and  every  effort  was  made  to  acquire 
information.  He  knew  his  studies  at  West  Point  were 
only  the  foundation  upon  which  to  build  the  life  edi 
fice.  Without  continued  application  to  the  principles 
of  engineering  and  study  he  could  not  hope  to  rise 


BIRTH.— CAREER  AS   OFFICER   OF   ENGINEERS.    25 

above  the  ordinary  level  of  the  military  graduate.  So 
his  army  career  began  with  the  fixed  determination  to 
put  aside  daily  pleasures  of  life  where  they  conflicted 
with  daily  hours  of  duty.  Officers  in  this  branch  of  the 
service  had  pleasant  stations,  necessarily  near  or  in 
the  cities.  Fortifications  for  the  defense  of  harbors, 
forts  for  the  protection  of  seaports,  streams  whose  cur 
rents  made  bars  at  wrong  places,  and  other  similar 
works  must  receive  the  attention  of  the  engineer.  His 
location  was  therefore  near  the  centers  of  civilization. 
Cavalry  and  infantry  graduates  of  West  Point  were  or 
dered  to  posts  where  the  sun  goes  down  behind  the 
western  hills ;  guarding  long  lines  of  frontier,  scouting, 
and  fighting  hostile  tribes  of  Indians  were  their  particu 
lar  duties.  The  temptations  incident  to  city  life  did  not 
lie  so  much  in  their  course  as  in  the  path  of  the  en 
gineer.  The  pleasures  and  fascinations  of  social  life 
everywhere  surrounded  him.  As  soon  as  he  unbuckled 
sword  belt  there  was  but  a  step  to  take  to  get  into  the 
gay  world.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that 
sometimes  the  engineer  drank  wine  when  it  was  red, 
and  did  not  seek  his  quarters  till  the  sun  had  gilded  with 
its  first  glance  the  spires  of  the  neighboring  church. 
The  artillery  officer  enjoyed  with  his  comrades  his  mess 
table;  the  infantry  officer  occasionally  had  moistened 
lips  from  a  canteen  of  frontier  fire  water;  while  the 
"  bold  dragoon  who  scorned  all  care "  rode  far  and 
sometimes  drank  deep. 

Lee  was  naturally  exposed  to  an  engineer's  tempta 
tions,  but  was  careful  and  abstemious.  He  went  much  in 
the  society  of  ladies — always  most  congenial  to  him.  His 
conversation  was  bright,  his  wit  refined  and  pleasant. 
Cement,  mortar,  lime,  curves,  tangents,  and  straight  pro 
fessional  lines  disappeared  then.  He  enjoyed  a  dress 
parade  of  this  kind,  was  happy  in  the  drawing-room  in 
the  evening,  and  happy  in  his  work  on  the  parapet  next 
day.  He  was  in  love  from  boyhood.  Fate  brought  him 
to  the  feet  of  one  who,  by  birth,  education,  position,  and 
family  tradition,  was  best  suited  to  be  his  life  companion. 
Mary  Custis,  the  daughter  of  George  Washington  Parke 
Custis,  of  Arlington,  and  Robert  E.  Lee,  were  married 
on  the  soth  of  June,  1831,  only  two  years  after  he  had 


26  GENERAL   LEE. 

emerged  from  his  Alma  Mater.  They  had  known 
each  other  when  she  was  a  child  at  Arlington  and  he 
a  young  boy  in  Alexandria,  some  eight  miles  away. 
It  is  said  she  met  him  to  admire  when  he  came  back 
to  Alexandria  on  furlough  from  the  Military  Acad 
emy.  It  was  the  first  time  any  one  in  that  vicin 
ity  had  ever  seen  him  in  his  cadet  uniform.  He 
was  handsomer  than  ever ;  straight,  erect,  symmet 
rical  in  form,  with  a  finely  shaped  head  on  a  pair  of 
broad  shoulders.  He  was  then  twenty  years  old 
and  a  fine  specimen  of  a  West  Point  cadet  on  leave 
of  absence.  The  impressions  produced  were  of  an 
enduring  nature,  and  the  officer,  upon  graduation, 
followed  up  the  advantage  gained  by  the  attractive 
cadet. 

G.  W.  P.  Custis  was  the  adopted  son  of  Washing 
ton  and  the  grandson  of  Mrs.  Washington.  Lee  was 
therefore  to  marry  a  great  granddaughter  of  Mrs. 
Washington,  and  was  a  fortunate  man,  not  so  much, 
perhaps,  from  these  ties,  but  because  of  the  great  quali 
ties  of  head  and  heart  possessed  by  Mary  Custis,  his 
affianced  bride.  It  is  difficult  to  say  whether  she  was 
more  lovely  on  that  memorable  June  evening  when  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Keith  asked  her,  "  Wilt  thou  have  this  man  to 
be  thy  wedded  husband?"  or  after  many  years  had 
passed,  and  she  was  seated  in  her  large  armchair  in 
Richmond,  almost  unable  to  move  from  chronic  rheuma 
tism,  but  busily  engaged  in  knitting  socks  for  sockless 
Southern  soldiers.  The  public  notice  of  the  marriage 
was  short : 

"Married,  June  30,  1831,  at  Arlington  House,  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Keith,  Lieutenant  Robert  E.  Lee,  of  the 
United  States  Corps  of  Engineers,  to  Miss  Mary  A. 
R.  Custis,  only  daughter  of  G.  W.  P.  Custis,  Esq." 
The  modesty  of  the  newly  married  couple  was  spared 
the  modern  newspaper  notice  of  what  the  bride 
wore  at  her  wedding  and  what  she  had  packed  in 
her  trunks,  and  her  presents  and  trousseau  are  in 
happy  oblivion.  Beautiful  old  Arlington  was  in  all 
her  glory  that  night.  The  stately  mansion  never  held 
a  happier  assemblage.  "  Its  broad  portico  and  wide- 


BIRTH.— CAREER  AS  OFFICER  OF  ENGINEERS.    27 

spread  wings  held  out  open  arms,  as  it  were,  to  wel 
come  the  coming  guest.  Its  simple  Doric  columns 
graced  domestic  comfort  with  a  classic  air.  Its  halls 
and  chambers  were  adorned  with  the  patriots  and 
heroes  and  with  illustrations  and  relics  of  the  great 
Revolution  and  of  the  *  Father  of  his  Country,'  and 
without  and  within,  history  and  tradition  seemed  to 
breathe  their  legends  upon  a  canvas  as  soft  as  a  dream 
of  peace." 

At  the  expiration  of  the  usual  leave  of  absence 
granted  officers  who  marry,  Lieutenant  Lee  returned 
to  his  duties  as  assistant  engineer  at  Hampton  Roads. 
For  four  years  he  labored  to  make  the  harbor  defens 
ible,  and  to  construct  there  strong  works,  little  dream 
ing  that  it  would  be  his  fate  to  study  how  to  demolish 
them  twenty-seven  years  afterward.  While  stationed 
there  the  negro  insurrection  in  Southampton  took  place, 
and  the  young  lieutenant  writes  to  his  mother-in-law 
about  it,  telling  her  that  it  is  at  an  end,  and  adding  that 
the  troops  returned  to  Fort  Monroe  last  night  "  from 
Jerusalem,  where  they  did  not  arrive  until  the  whole 
affair  was  concluded.  Colonel  Worth  says  that,  from 
all  he  can  learn,  he  is  satisfied  the  plot  was  widely  ex 
tended,  and  that  the  negroes,  anticipating  the  time  of 
rising  by  one  week,  mistaking  the  third  Sunday  for  the 
last  in  the  month,  defeated  the  whole  scheme  and  pre 
vented  much  mischief.  It  is  ascertained  that  they  used 
their  religious  assemblies,  which  ought  to  have  been  de 
voted  to  better  purposes,  for  forming  and  maturing  their 
plans,  and  that  their  preachers  were  the  leading  men.  A 
man  belonging  to  a  Mrs.  Whitehead,  and  one  of  their 
preachers,  was  the  chief,  under  the  title  of  Major  Nelson, 
and  his  first  act  was  to  kill  his  mistress,  five  children,  and 
one  grandchild.  However,  there  are  many  instances  of 
their  defending  their  masters,  and  one  poor  fellow,  from 
the  inconsiderate  and  almost  unwarrantable  haste  of  the 
whites,  was  sadly  rewarded.  He  belonged  to  a  Mr.  Blunt, 
and  himself  and  two  others,  assisted  by  his  master  and  his 
son,  nobly  fought  with  them  against  twenty  of  the  blacks ; 
after  beating  them  off  and  running  in  great  haste  after 
horses  for  them  to  escape  on,  a  party  of  whites  suddenly 
came  up  and,  thinking  the  horses  were  for  other  pur- 


28  GENERAL   LEE. 

poses,  shot  him  dead.  The  whole  number  of  blacks 
taken  and  killed  did  not  amount  to  the  number  of  whites 
murdered  by  them." 

From  that  point  he  was  ordered  to  Washington  and 
made  assistant  to  the  chief  engineer,  an  agreeable  change, 
for  it  brought  him  near  the  home  of  his  wife.  A  fine 
horse  carried  him  every  morning  from  Arlington  to  his 
Washington  office  and  back  every  evening.  He  loved 
his  chosen  profession,  and  was  rising  rapidly  in  it.  Now 
he  could  combine  equestrianism  with  engineering,  and  he 
was  happy,  and  must  have  been  sometimes  merry,  for  his 
late  lamented  military  secretary,  General  Long,  narrates 
an  incident  of  his  inviting  Captain  Macomb,  a  brother 
officer,  to  get  behind  him  on  horseback  one  evening  on 
his  return  to  Arlington.  Macomb  accepted  the  invita 
tion,  and  the  two  gayly  rode  along  the  great  public 
avenue  in  Washington,  passing  by  the  President's  house, 
bowing  to  Cabinet  officers,  and  behaving  in  rather  a 
hilarious  way  generally.  It  is  difficult  for  a  soldier  of 
the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  to  picture  his  command 
ing  general  in  a  scene  such  as  has  been  described. 

Five  years  after  leaving  his  Alma  Mater  he  was  pro 
moted  from  second  to  first  lieutenant  of  engineers,  and 
in  two  years  more  reached  a  captaincy.  In  1835  he  was 
made  assistant  astronomer  of  the  commission  appointed 
to  lay  the  boundary  line  between  Ohio  and  Michigan. 
Two  years  afterward  he  bade  adieu  to  Arlington  to  obey 
an  order  to  proceed  to  St.  Louis  to  make  estimates,  pre 
pare  plans,  and  devise  means  to  prevent  the  "  Great 
Father  of  Waters  "  from  leaving  his  legitimate  channel 
and  overrunning  property  upon  which  he  had  no  claims, 
for  the  Mississippi  had  threatened  to  leave  the  St.  Louis 
side  and  become  a  flowing  citizen  of  Illinois.  In  the 
performance  of  this  duty  he  came  prominently  into 
notice  again ;  he  was  so  active,  so  indefatigable,  and 
worked  so  intelligently  and  successfully,  that  the  sys 
tem  of  river  improvements  first  introduced  there  is  tc 
this  day  followed.  Some  of  the  citizens  of  that  section 
did  not  understand  his  methods,  and  threatened  to  drive 
him  and  his  working  parties  away,  and  at  one  time  actu 
ally  brought  cannon  to  accomplish  their  purpose.  They 
did  not  comprehend  the  labors  of  this  quiet,  methodical 


BIRTH.— CAREER  AS  OFFICER   OF   ENGINEERS.    29 

engineer,  or  understand  the  reason  why  piles  were  driven 
and  cofferdams  made  at  acute  angles  to  the  shore ;  nor 
did  they  understand  that  the  flow  of  the  waters  being 
retarded  in  these  angles,  sediment  was  deposited,  land 
made,  and  the  river,  in  consequence,  forced  back  and 
confined  to  its  channels  on  the  St.  Louis  side. 

While  thus  professionally  engaged  it  occurred  to  him 
that  he  would  like  to  possess  a  seal  with  the  family's 
Coat  of  Arms,  and  he  writes  to  an  Alexandria  cousin 
about  it : 

ST.  Louis,  August  20,  1838. 

MY  DEAR  CASSIUS  AND  COUSIN  :  I  believe  I  once  spoke 
to  you  on  the  subject  of  getting  for  me  the  Crest,  Coat  of  Arms, 
etc.,  of  the  Lee  family,  and  which,  sure  enough,  you  never  did. 
My  object  in  making  the  request  is  for  the  purpose  of  having  a 
seal  cut  with  the  impression  of  said  Coat,  which  I  think  is  due 
from  a  man  of  my  large  family  to  his  posterity,  and  which  I  have 
thought,  perhaps  foolishly  enough,  might  as  well  be  right  as 
wrong.  If,  therefore,  you  can  assist  me  in  this  laudable  enter 
prise  I  shall  be  much  obliged,  and  by  enveloping  it  securely,  di 
rected  to  me  at  this  place,  and  sending  it  either  by  mail  or  some 
safe  hand  to  the  Engineer  Office,  Washington  City,  without  any 
word  or  further  direction,  it  will  come  safely  to  hand.  I  once  saw 
in  the  hands  of  Cousin  Edmund,  for  the  only  time  in  my  life,  our 
family  tree,  and  as  I  begin  in  my  old  age  to  feel  a  little  curiosity 
relative  to  my  forefathers,  their  origin,  whereabouts,  etc.,  any  in 
formation  you  can  give  me  will  increase  the  obligation. 

So  sit  down  one  of  these  hot  evenings  and  write  it  off  for  me, 
or  at  any  rate  the  substance,  and  tell  my  Cousin  Phillippa  not  to 
let  you  forget  it.  I  wish  you  would  at  the  same  time 'undeceive 
her  on  a  certain  point,  for,  as  I  understand,  she  is  laboring  under 
a  grievous  error. 

Tell  her  that  it  is  the  farthest  from  my  wish  to  detract  from 
any  of  the  little  Lees,  but  as  to  her  little  boy  being  equal  to  Mr. 
Rooney,*  it  is  a  thing  not  even  to  be  supposed,  much  less  believed, 
although  we  live  in  a  credulous  country,  where  people  stick  at 
nothing  from  a  coon  story  to  a  sea  serpent.  You  must  remem 
ber  us  particularly  to  her,  to  Uncle  Edmund,  Cousins  Sally, 
Hannah,  and  all  the  Lloyds. 

I  believe  I  can  tell  you  nothing  here  that  would  interest  you, 
except  that  we  are  all  well,  although  my  dame  has  been  a  little 
complaining  for  a  day  or  two.  The  elections  are  all  over,  the 
"  Van-ites  "  have  carried  the  day  in  the  State,  although  the  Whigs 
in  this  district  carried  their  entire  ticket,  and  you  will  have  the 

*  A  pet  name  for  his  son,  William  H.  F.  Lee. — EDITOR. 


30  GENERAL   LEE. 

pleasure  of  hearing  the  great  expunger  again  thunder  from  his 
place  in  the  Senate  against  banks,  bribery,  and  corruption.  While 
on  the  river  I  can  not  help  being  on  the  lookout  for  that  stream 
of  gold  that  was  to  ascend  the  Mississippi,  tied  up  in  silk-net 
purses  !  It  would  be  a  pretty  sight,  but  the  tide  has  not  yet 
made  up  here.  Let  me  know  whether  you  can  enlighten  me  on 
the  point  in  question.  And  believe  me, 

Yours  very  truly,  R.  E.  LEE. 

C.  F.  LEE,  ESQ.,  Alexandria,  Virginia. 

And  to  Mrs.  Lee  he  writes  : 

ST.  Louis,  September  4,  1840. 

A  few  evenings  since,  feeling  lonesome,  as  the  saying  is,  and 
out  of  sorts,  I  got  on  a  horse  and  took  a  ride.  On  returning 
through  the  lower  part  of  the  town,  I  saw  a  number  of  little  girls 
all  dressed  up  in  their  white  frocks  and  pantalets,  their  hair 
plaited  and  tied  up  with  ribbons,  running  and  chasing  each 
other  in  all  directions.  I  counted  twenty-three  nearly  the  same 
size.  As  I  drew  up  my  horse  to  admire  the  spectacle  a  man 
appeared  at  the  door  with  the  twenty-fourth  in  his  arms.  "  My 
friend,"  said  I,  "  are  all  these  your  children  ?  "  "  Yes,"  he  said, 
*'  and  there  are  nine  more  in  the  house,  and  this  is  the  youngest." 
Upon  further  inquiry,  however,  I  found  that  they  were  only  tem 
porarily  his,  and  that  they  were  invited  to  a  party  at  his  house. 
He  said,  however,  he  had  been  admiring  them  betore  I  came  up, 
and  just  wished  that  he  had  a  million  of  dollars  and  that  they 
were  all  his  in  reality.  I  do  not  think  the  eldest  exceeded  seven 
or  eight  years  old.  It  was  the  prettiest  sight  I  have  seen  in  the 
West,  and  perhaps  in  my  life.  .  .  . 

On  the  completion  of  his  great  services  here  he  was 
sent  to  New  York  and  stationed  at  Fort  Hamilton  to 
perfect  the  defenses  of  the  splendid  harbor  of  that  great 
city.  A  letter  to  his  wife  from  that  point  gives  a  glimpse 
of  the  humor  which  constantly  found  vent  in  his  private 
life.  He  writes  : 

FORT  HAMILTON,  NEW  YORK,  January  14,  1846. 

This  week  I  have  been  closely  occupied  here.  I  have  kept 
"Jim"  and  "  Miss  Leary "  (his  servants)  constantly  moving, 
cleaning  up,  and  fear  I  will  wear  them  down.  I  do  not  know 
whether  it  was  your  departure  or  my  somber  phiz  which 
brought  Miss  Leary  out  Sunday  in  a  full  suit  of  mourning.  A 
black  alpaca  trimmed  with  crape  and  a  thick  row  of  jet  buttons 
on  each  sleeve,  from  the  shoulder  to  the  wrist,  and  three  rows  on 
the  skirt,  diverging  from  the  waist  to  the  hem  ;  it  was,  however, 
surmounted  by  a  dashing  cap  with  gay  ribbons. 


BIRTH.— CAREER  AS   OFFICER   OF   ENGINEERS.     31 

He  was  now  a  captain  of  engineers,  and  his  mettle 
was  soon  to  be  tried  in  the  fiery  furnace  of  war,  for  his 
country  and  the  Republic  of  Mexico  were  daily  growing 
more  angry  with  each  other.  Mexico,  from  1519,  when 
Hernando  Cortez  marched  through  the  causeway  lead 
ing  into  its  Capital  City  to  the  present  period,  has  been 
an  object  of  much  interest  to  other  countries.  Com 
mencing  with  the  Indian  Emperor  Montezuma's  costly 
presents  to  Cortez,  the  land  has  been  associated  with  in 
exhaustible  supplies  of  gold  and  silver.  The  Spanish 
commander,  from  his  quarters  near  the  temple  of  the 
Aztec  god  of  war,  dreamed  of  infinite  wealth  for  him 
self,  his  soldiers,  and  his  country. 

A  fascinating  interest  in  Mexico  has  always  kept 
pace  with  the  progress  and  growth  of  the  contiguous 
American  Republic.  Upon  the  final  overthrow  of  the 
Mexicans  by  the  Spaniards,  the  adjoining  sections  were 
settled  by  the  latter,  and  a  permanent  location  was  made 
in  Texas,  at  San  Antonio  de  Bexar,  in  1692.  France,  in 
selling  to  the  United  States  Louisiana,  claimed  the  bound 
ary  line  to  be  the  River  Rio  Grande  del  Norte,  and  as 
signed  this  boundary  claim  to  the  United  States.  It 
was,  however,  relinquished  by  the  American  Republic  to 
Spain,  in  a  treaty  made  with  that  country  in  1812. 
When  Mexico,  in  1820,  threw  off  the  Spanish  yoke,  she 
obtained  at  the  same  time  the  domain  of  Texas.  After 
ward  Stephen  F.  Austin  obtained  from  the  Mexican 
Government  large  tracts  of  land  in  Texas  and  estab 
lished  colonies  on  them.  Citizens  of  the  United  States 
were  naturally  attracted  there,  and  as  they  grew  in 
numbers  wanted  a  government  similar  in  form  to  the 
one  they  had  left.  Stephen  Austin  was  sent  to  Santa 
Anna,  then  Emperor  of  Mexico,  with  petitions  praying 
for  a  separate  state  organization,  and  to  be  no  longer 
united  with  Cohahuila,  the  neighboring  Mexican  prov 
ince.  Austin's  petition,  it  seems,  was  more  than  Santa 
Anna  could  stand,  and  he  threw  him  into  prison  and  kept 
him  there  over  a  year.  The  American  Texans,  some  ten 
thousand  in  number,  were  indignant,  and  determined  to 
resist  the  Mexican  Emperor's  authority.  A  war  ensued, 
and  the  redoubtable  Santa  Anna  was  finally  overthrown 
and  captured  at  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto,  April  21,  1836. 


32  GENERAL   LEE. 


Texas  was  later  an  applicant  for  membership  to  the  union 
of  American  States.  Her  independence  had  been  ac 
knowledged  by  Great  Britain,  the  United  States,  and 
other  Powers;  but  Bustamente,  who  succeeded  Santa 
Anna,  repealed  the  treaty  Mexico  had  with  Texas  and  de 
clared  war.  In  the  United  States  opinion  was  divided  be 
tween  annexation  and  war.  President  Van  Buren,  a  citi 
zen  of  New  York,  would  not  entertain  annexation,  while  a 
successor — John  Tyler,  of  Virginia — favored  it.  A  treaty 
made  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  annexation  was  re 
jected  by  the  Senate.  In  1844  it  became  a  party  ques 
tion,  and  by  the  election  of  James  K.  Polk,  of  Tennessee, 
who  was  in  favor  of  it,  over  Henry  Clay,  of  Kentucky, 
whose  adherents  were  opposed  to  it,  the  people  of  the 
United  States  practically  decided  in  favor  of  annexa 
tion.  It  was  then  natural  and  proper  that  the  United 
States  Government  should  look  closely  after  the  inter 
ests  of  her  new  possessions,  and  to  General  Zachary 
Taylor  they  were  confided.  A  Virginian  by  birth,  he 
was  appointed  a  lieutenant  in  the  Seventh  Infantry, 
United  States  Army,  in  1808,  being  one  of  the  new  regi 
ments  authorized  by  Congress,  upon  the  recommenda 
tion  of  President  Thomas  Jefferson.  He  became  con 
spicuous  in  the  Indian  contests,  and  was  especially 
famous  after  winning  the  battle  of  Okeechobee  in  the 
Seminole  War.  Promoted  to  be  a  brigadier  general  in 
1837,  three  years  thereafter  he  was  assigned  to  the 
command  of  the  Southern  Division  of  the  Western  De 
partment.  He  was  in  place,  therefore,  to  defend  Texas 
against  the  Mexicans,  to  insist  on  the  Rio  Grande  boun 
dary  line,  and  to  prevent  Mexican  authority  from  be 
ing  extended  to  the  River  Nueces,  which  was  claimed 
as  the  proper  line.  He  was  the  right  man  in  the  right 
place,  and  when  Arista,  the  Mexican  general,  crossed 
the  Rio  Grande  with  six  thousand  men,  near  Fort 
Brown,  Taylor,  being  in  the  vicinity,  promptly  attacked 
with  two  thousand  men  and  defeated  him,  assumed  the 
offensive,  crossed  the  Rio  Grande,  and  war  with  Mexico 
became  an  accomplished  fact.  Palo  Alto,  Resaca  de  la 
Palma,  Matamoras,  Monterey,  and  Buena  Vista  are  the 
stars  in  the  military  crown  on  the  brow  of  "  Old  Rough 
and  Ready,"  as  he  was  called.  Calm,  silent,  stern,  pos- 


BIRTH.— CAREER  AS  OFFICER  OF   ENGINEERS.    33 

sessed  of  military  genius,  this  soldier  at  once  became  a 
favorite  with  the  American  people,  and  for  his  services 
was  afterward  elected  to  be  the  twelfth  President  of  the 
United  States.  When  Mexico's  capital  was  decided  to 
be  the  objective  point  of  the  campaign,  Taylor's  base 
of  operations  was  too  distant  and  his  line  of  communi 
cation  too  long.  It  was  thought  advisable  to  select  as 
the  base  of  future  operations  Vera  Cruz.  General  Win- 
field  Scott,  then  commander  in  chief  of  the  United 
States  Army,  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
army  to  be  concentrated  for  its  reduction.  The  new 
army  commander,  Scott,  was  born  near  Petersburg,  Va., 
in  June,  1786,  and  was  sixty-one  years  old  when  he  be 
gan  the  siege  of  Vera  Cruz  on  the  i9th  of  March,  1847. 
He  was  an  alumnus  of  William  and  Mary  College,  Wil- 
liamsburg,  Va.,  and  a  lawyer  for  two  years  before  he 
was  appointed  to  a  lieutenancy  in  the  artillery  of  the 
United  States  Army.  His  services  in  the  war  of  1812, 
and  especially  in  the  battles  of  Chippewa  and  Lundy's 
Lane,  had  made  him  famous.  With  a  grand  physique 
and  imposing  presence  in  full  uniform,  he  was  a  splen 
did  specimen  of  the  American  soldier.  Being  in  com 
mand  of  the  whole  army,  and  in  active  charge  of  the 
army  of  invasion,  his  requests  for  the  best  officers,  as 
well  as  ordnance,  quartermasters'  and  commissaries' 
supplies,  were  promptly  acceded  to.  A  war  with  a 
foreign  country  was  highly  exciting  and  new  to  most  of 
the  army  and  navy  officers,  so  that  applications  for 
service  in  Mexico  rapidly  rained  upon  the  War  Depart 
ment,  and  the  Secretary  of  War  had  no  difficulty  in  send 
ing  to  Mexico  the  most  capable  officers. 

Engineers  are  as  necessary  to  an  army  as  sails  are  to 
a  ship;  they  locate  lines  of  battle,  select  positions  for  the 
artillery,  make  reconnoissances,  and  upon  their  reports 
the  movements  of  the  army  are  based.  They  draw  to 
pographical  maps,  construct  roads  and  bridges,  and 
guide  troops  in  battle  to  positions  they  had  previously 
reconnoitred.  Scott  soon  drew  to  him  from  this  branch 
of  the  service  Totten,  J.  L.  Smith,  R.  E.  Lee,  Beaure- 
gard,  McClellan,  Foster,  Tower,  Stevens,  G.  \V.  Smith, 
and  others,  and  at  once  placed  Captain  Lee  on  his  per 
sonal  staff.  This  officer,  when  Scott  was  assembling  the 


34 


GENERAL   LEE. 


army  at  Tampico,  for  the  purpose  of  investing  and  cap 
turing  Vera  Cruz,  was  with  General  Wool,  who  had  been 
assigned  the  duty  of  invading  Mexico  from  the  north, 
while  Taylor  advanced  from  Matamoras,  and  General 
Kearny  from  New  Mexico. 

In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Lee,  dated  Rio  Grande,  October 
IT,  1846,  Captain  Lee  says  :  "  We  have  met  with  no  re 
sistance  yet.  The  Mexicans  who  were  guarding  the 
passage  retired  on  our  approach.  There  has  been  a 
great  whetting  of  knives,  grinding  of  swords,  and  sharp 
ening  of  bayonets  ever  since  we  reached  the  river." 

It  seems  on  the  eve  of  active  operations  Captain 
Lee's  thoughts  were  ever  returning  to  his  family  and 
home.  In  a  letter  to  his  two  eldest  sons  (one  thirteen 
and  the  other  nine  years  of  age),  written  from  Camp 
near  Saltillo,  December  24,  1846,  he  says:  "I  hope  good 
Santa  Claus  will  fill  my  Rob's  stocking  to-night  ;  that 
Mildred's,  Agnes's,  and  Anna's  may  break  down  with 
good  things.  I  do  not  know  what  he  may  have  for  you 
and  Mary  (his  daughter),  but  if  he  only  leaves  for  you 
one  half  of  what  I  wish,  you  will  want  for  nothing.  I 
have  frequently  thought  if  I  had  one  of  you  on  each 
side  of  me  riding  on  ponies,  such  as  I  could  get  you,  I 
would  be  comparatively  happy." 

The  little  fellows  had  been  writing  to  their  father 
asking  about  his  horses  and  the  ponies  in  Mexico,  etc. 
In  reply  he  tells  them  "the  Mexicans  raise  a  large 
quantity  of  ponies,  donkeys,  and  mules,  and  most  of 
their  corn,  etc.,  is  carried  on  the  backs  of  these  ani 
mals.  These  little  donkeys  will  carry  two  hundred 
pounds  on  their  backs,  and  the  mules  will  carry  three 
hundred  on  long  journeys  over  the  mountains.  The 
ponies  are  used  for  riding  and  cost  from  ten  to  fifty  dol 
lars,  according  to  their  size  and  quality.  I  have  three 
horses.  Creole  is  my  pet;  she  is  a  golden  dun,  active  as 
a  deer,  and  carries  me  over  all  the  ditches  and  gullies 
that  I  have  met  with;  nor  has  she  ever  yet  hesitated  at 
anything  I  have  put  her  at ;  she  is  full-blooded  and  con 
sidered  the  prettiest  thing  in  the  army ;  though  young, 
she  has  so  far  stood  the  campaign  as  well  as  any  horses 
of  the  division."  He  then  tells  them  about  his  other 
two — a  dark  bay,  deep-chested,  sturdy,  and  strong,  that 


BIRTH.— CAREER   AS  OFFICER   OF   ENGINEERS.    35 

his  servant  Jim  rides,  and  says  that  Jim  has  named  him 
after  himself;  he  goes  on  to  say  that  he  has  ridden  them 
all  very  hard,  sometimes  fifty  or  sixty  miles  a  day. 

He  was  still  at  Saltillo  the  next  day  :  it  was  Christmas, 
and  he  had  arranged  a  campaign  in  his  own  heart,  which 
would  result  in  his  taking  advantage  of  the  holiday  to 
write  a  letter  to  his  wife.  He  tells  Mrs.  Lee  that  he  had 
put  aside  that  Christmas  day  to  write  to  her,  but  just 
after  breakfast  orders  were  received  to  prepare  for  bat 
tle,  intelligence  having  reached  General  Wool  that  the 
Mexican  army  was  coming.  "  The  troops  stood  to  their 
arms  and  I  lay  on  the  grass  with  my  sorrel  mare  saddled 
by  my  side  and  telescope  directed  to  the  pass  of  the 
mountain  through  which  the  road  approached.  The 
Mexicans,  however,  did  not  make  their  appearance. 
Many  regrets  were  expressed  at  Santa  Anna's  having 
spoiled  our  Christmas  dinner  for  which  ample  prepara 
tion  had  been  made.  The  little  roasters  remained  tied 
to  the  tent  pins  wondering  at  their  deferred  fate,  and 
the  headless  turkeys  retained  their  plumage  unscathed. 
Finding  the  enemy  did  not  come,  preparations  were 
again  made  for  dinner.  We  have  had  many  happy 
Christmases  together.  It  is  the  first  time  we  have  been 
entirely  separated  at  this  holy  time  since  our  marriage. 
I  hope  it  does  not  interfere  with  your  happiness,  sur 
rounded  as  you  are  by  father,  mother,  children,  and  dear 
friends.  I  therefore  trust  you  are  well  and  happy,  and 
that  this  is  the  last  time  I  shall  be  absent  from  you  dur 
ing  my  life.  May  God  preserve  and  bless  you  till  then 
and  forever  after  is  my  constant  prayer." 

The  American  commander  promptly  availed  himself 
of  the  talents  of  the  engineer  and  summoned  Lee  to  his 
side,  and  in  the  memorable  campaign  which  followed, 
Lee  was  his  military  adviser  and  possessed  his  entire 
confidence.  The  high  estimation  and  cordial  friendship 
which  the  army  commander  ever  thereafter  displayed  for 
his  subordinate  was  born  at  Vera  Cruz. 

The  city  of  Vera  Cruz  was  surrounded  by  a  wall  and 
strengthened  by  forts,  the  castle  of  San  Juan  de  Ulloa, 
its  fortress,  was  defended  by  four  hundred  guns  and  five 
thousand  men  under  General  Morales.  The  soldierly 
genius  of  Scott  at  once  told  him  there  were  but  two 


36  GENERAL   LEE. 

ways  to  capture  the  city — either  by  storming  or  by  the 
scientific  principles  of  regular  siege  approaches.  In  his 
"  Little  Cabinet,"  as  he  called  it  (it  appears  he  was  even 
then  thinking  of  a  future  presidency) — consisting  of 
Colonel  Totten,  Chief  Engineer;  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Hitchcock,  Acting  Inspector  General;  Captain  R.  E.  Lee, 
Engineer;  First-Lieutenant  Henry  L.  Scott,  Acting  Adju 
tant  General — these  questions  were  taken  up.  A  death 
bed  discussion  could  hardly  have  been  more  solemn,  the 
army  commander  tells  us.  To  his  Cabinet  he  said  :  "  We, 
of  course,  gentlemen,  must  take  the  city  and  castle  before 
the  return  of  the  vomito,  and  then  escape  by  pushing 
the  contest  into  the  healthy  interior."  He  was  "  strong 
ly  inclined  to  attempt  to  capture  the  place  by  laying 
siege  to  it,  not  by  storming  it."  The  first  method,  in 
his  opinion,  "  could  be  accomplished  with  moderate  loss 
on  his  side.  The  second  method  would,  no  doubt," 
said  Scott,  "  be  equally  successful,  but  at  the  cost  of  im 
mense  slaughter  on  both  sides,  including  non-combat 
ants,  Mexicans,  and  children,  because  the  assault  would 
have  to  be  made  in  the  dark,  and  the  assailants  dare  not 
lose  time  in  taking  or  guarding  prisoners  without  incur 
ring  the  certainty  of  becoming  captives  themselves,  un 
til  all  the  strongholds  of  the  place  had  been  captured." 
The  council  determined  upon  a  siege.  In  two  weeks  the 
army  and  navy  were  ready  to  open  fire,  and  one  week's 
bombardment  resulted  in  the  capitulation  of  Vera  Cruz, 
and  the  adjacent  forts  on  the  2Qth  of  March,  1847.  In 
the  preparatory  two  weeks  Lee  spent  nights  and  days 
in  incessant  labor,  and  his  enterprise,  endurance,  energy, 
and  intelligent  arrangement  of  all  the  necessary  details 
of  the  siege  were  most  conspicuous,  and  to  him  has  been 
ascribed  much  credit  for  the  victory. 

At  Vera  Cruz  Captain  Lee  met  his  brother,  Lieuten 
ant  Sydney  Smith  Lee,  of  the  United  States  Navy,  and 
the  soldier  and  sailor  fought  together.  In  a  letter  writ 
ten  from  Vera  Cruz  at  the  time,  after  describing  a  bat 
tery  which  had  been  placed  in  position  by  him,  Captain 
Lee  adds:  "The  first  day  this  battery  opened,  Smith 
served  one  of  the  guns.  I  had  constructed  the  battery, 
and  was  there  to  direct  its  fire.  No  matter  where  I 
turned,  my  eyes  reverted  to  him,  and  I  stood  by  his  gun 


BIRTH.— CAREER  AS   OFFICER   OF   ENGINEERS.    37 

whenever  I  was  not  wanted  elsewhere.  Oh !  I  felt  aw 
fully,  and  am  at  a  loss  what  I  should  have  done  had  he 
been  cut  down  before  me.  I  thank  God  that  he  was 
saved.  He  preserved  his  usual  cheerfulness,  and  I  could 
see  his  white  teeth  through  all  the  smoke  and  din  of  the 
fire.  I  had  placed  three  32-  and  three  68-pound  guns  in 
jX>sition.  .  .  .  Their  fire  was  terrific,  and  the  shells 
thrown  from  our  battery  were  constant  and  regular  dis 
charges,  so  beautiful  in  their  flight  and  so  destructive  in 
their  fall.  It  was  awful !  My  heart  bled  for  the  inhab 
itants.  The  soldiers  I  did  not  care  so  much  for,  but  it 
was  terrible  to  think  of  the  women  and  children.  ...  I 
heard  from  Smith  to-day ;  he  is  quite  well,  and  recov 
ered  from  his  fatigue." 

And  to  his  naval  brother  he  writes  on  March  27,  1847, 
when  it  seems  he  wanted  some  liquors,  in  all  probability 
for  his  guests,  as  his  own  abstemiousness  was  well 
known : 

MY  DEAR  SMITH  :  I  tried  to  see  you  the  night  you  went  on 
board,  but  failed.  .1  was  too  thankful  you  were  saved  through 
that  hot  fire.  I  felt  awful  at  the  thought  of  your  being  shot  down 
before  me.  I  can't  get  time  to  see  you,  nor  have  I  time  to  attend 
to  anything  for  myself.  There  is  a  French  bark  anchored  by 
your  fleet,  and  detained  at  Anton  Lizardo — or  was — from  Bor 
deaux.  She  has  some  wines,  etc.  Can  you,  through  any  of  your 
comrades,  get  me  a  box  or  two  of  claret,  one  of  brandy,  and  four 
colored  shirts.  The  latter  are  seventy-five  cents  each  (I  have  two 
of  them),  and  the  brandy  thirty-seven  and  a  half  cents  per  bottle. 
God  bless  and  preserve  you.  Your  battery  (naval)  has  smashed 
that  side  of  the  town.  I  have  been  around  the  walls  to  examine. 
The  Quartet  Battery  has  been  silenced.  I  grieve  for  the  fine  fel 
lows  that  were  killed  there. 

Very  affectionately  your  brother,  R.  E.  LEE. 

P.  S. — Can  you  buy  me  a  good  telescope  from  the  fleet  ?  I 
have  lost  mine  and  am  woefully  at  a  loss. 

Before  leaving  for  the  interior  with  the  army,  Captain 
Lee  sought  his  brother  to  say  good-by.  In  one  of  his 
letters  he  writes :  "  Went  on  board  the  Mississippi,  and 
passed  the  night  with  Smith.  I  had  scarcely  been  able 
to  see  him  before,  and  wished,  ere  commencing  work,  to 
have  one  night  with  him.  He  was  very  well,  but  what  a 
place  is  a  ship  to  enjoy  the  company  of  one's  brother ! " 
4 


38  GENERAL   LEE. 

When  Scott  set  out,  on  the  i2th  of  April,  from  Vera 
Cruz,  to  join  his  advanced  divisions  under  Patterson 
and  Twiggs,  in  front  of  the  heights  of  Cerro  Gordo,  Les 
accompanied  him.  It  was  the  reconnoissance  of  this 
officer  at  the  head  of  the  pioneers  which  found  a  possible 
route  for  the  troops  and  their  light  batteries,  by  which 
the  Mexican  left  could  be  turned.  Santa  Anna,  who 
commanded  the  Mexican  army,  said  he  did  not  believe 
a  goat  could  have  come  from  that  direction.  In  his 
final  report  Scott  thus  speaks :  "  The  reconnoissance, 
begun  by  Lieutenant  Beauregard,  was  continued  by 
Captain  Lee,  of  the  engineers,  and  a  road  made  along 
one  of  the  slopes  over  chasms — out  of  the  enemy's  view 
though  reached  by  his  fire — was  discovered,  till,  arriving 
at  the  Mexican  lines,  further  reconnoissance  became  im 
possible  without  an  action.  I  am  compelled  to  make 
special  mention  of  Captain  R.  E.  Lee,  Engineer.  This 
officer  greatly  distinguished  himself  at  the  siege  of  Vera 
Cruz  ;  was  indefatigable  during  these  operations  in  re- 
connoissances,  as  daring  as  laborious,  and  of  the  utmost 
value.  Nor  was  he  less  conspicuous  in  planning  bat 
teries  and  in  conducting  columns  from  stations  under 
the  heavy  fire  of  the  enemy."  General  Lee  thus  describes 
the  battle  of  Cerro  Gordo : 

"  Perote,  April  25, 1847. — The  advance  of  the  Ameri 
can  troops,  under  Generals  Patterson  and  Twiggs,  were 
encamped  at  the  Piano  del  Rio,  and  three  miles  to  their 
front  Santa  Anna  and  his  army  were  intrenched  in  the 
pass  of  Cerro  Gordo,  which  was  remarkably  strong. 
The  right  of  the  Mexican  line  rested  on  the  river  at  a 
perpendicular  rock,  unscalable  by  man  or  beast,  and 
their  left  on  impassable  ravines;  the  main  road  was  de 
fended  by  field  works  containing  thirty-five  cannon ;  in 
their  rear  was  the  mountain  of  Cerro  Gordo,  surrounded 
by  intrenchments  in  which  were  cannon  and  crowned  by 
a  tower  overlooking  all — it  was  around  this  army  that 
it  was  intended  to  lead  our  troops.  I  reconnoitered  the 
ground  in  the  direction  of  the  ravines  on  their  left,  and 
passed  around  the  enemy's  rear.  On  the  i6th  a  party 
was  set  to  work  in  cutting  out  the  road,  on  the  iyth  I 
led  General  Twiggs's  division  in  the  rear  of  a  hill  in 
front  of  Cerro  Gordo,  and  in  the  afternoon,  when  it  be- 


BIRTH.— CAREER   AS  OFFICER   OF   ENGINEERS. 


39 


came  necessary  to  drive  them  from  the  hill  where  we 
intended  to  construct  a  battery  at  night,  the  first  intima 
tion  of  our  presence  or  intentions  were  known.  During 
all  that  night  we  were  at  work  in  constructing  the  bat 
tery,  getting  up  the  guns,  ammunition,  etc.,  and  they  in 
strengthening  their  defenses  on  Cerro  Gordo.  Soon 
after  sunrise  our  batteries  opened,  and  I  started  with  a 
column  to  turn  their  left  and  to  get  on  the  Jalapa  road. 
Notwithstanding  their  efforts  to  prevent  us  in  this,  we 
were  perfectly  successful,  and  the  working  party,  follow 
ing  our  footsteps,  cut  out  the  road  for  the  artillery.  In 
the  mean  time  our  storming  party  had  reached  the  crest 
of  Cerro  Gordo,  and,  seeing  their  whole  left  turned  and 
the  position  of  our  soldiers  on  the  Jalapa  road,  they 
broke  and  fled.  Those  in  the  pass  laid  down  their  arms. 
General  Pillow's  attack  on  their  right  failed.  All  their 
cannon,  arms,  ammunition,  and  most  of  their  men  fell 
into  our  hands.  The  papers  can  not  tell  you  what  a 
horrible  sight  a  field  of  battle  is,  nor  will  I,  owing  to  my 
accompanying  General  Twiggs's  division  in  the  pursuit, 
and  being  since  constantly  in  the  advance.  I  believe  all 
our  friends  are  safe.  I  think  I  wrote  you  that  my  friend 
Joe  Johnston  *  was  wounded  the  day  before  I  arrived  at 
the  Piano  del  Rio  while  reconnoitering.  He  was  wounded 
in  the  arm  and  about  the  groin ;  both  balls  are  out,  and 
he  was  doing  well  and  was  quite  comfortable  when  I 
left ;  the  latter  wound  was  alone  troublesome.  Captain 
Mason,  of  the  rifles,  was  badly  wounded  in  the  leg,  and 
General  Shields  was  wounded  in  the  chest ;  I  have  heard 
contradictory  reports  that  he  was  doing  well  and  that  he 
was  dead.  I  hope  the  former.  Jalapa  is  the  most  beau 
tiful  country  I  have  seen  in  Mexico,  and  will  compare 
with  any  I  have  seen  elsewhere.  I  wish  it  was  in  the 
United  States,  and  that  I  was  located  with  you  and  the 
children  around  me  in  one  of  its  rich,  bright  valleys.  I 
can  conceive  nothing  more  beautiful  in  the  way  of  land 
scape  or  mountain  scenery.  We  ascended  upward  of 
four  thousand  feet  that  morning,  and  whenever  we  looked 
back  the  rich  valley  below  was  glittering  in  the  morning 
sun  and  the  light  morning  clouds  flitting  around  us.  On 

*  Afterward  the  distinguished  commander. 
4 


4Q  GENERAL   LEE. 

reaching  the  top,  the  valley  appeared  at  intervals  be 
tween  the  clouds  which  were  below  us,  and  high  over 
all  towered  Orizaba,  with  its  silver  cap  of  snow.  The 
castle  or  fort  of  Perote  is  one  of  the  best  finished  that 
I  have  ever  seen — very  strong,  with  high,  thick  walls, 
bastioned  fronts,  and  deep,  wide  ditch.  It  is  defective 
in  construction  and  is  very  spacious,  covers  twenty-five 
acres,  and  although  there  is  within  its  walls  nearly  three 
thousand  troops,  it  is  not  yet  full.  Within  the  fort  is  a 
beautiful  chapel,  in  one  corner  of  which  is  the  tomb  of 
Guadalupe  Victoria.  There  are  various  skulls,  images, 
etc.,  in  the  sanctuaries.  This  morning  I  attended  the 
Episcopal  service  within  the  fort.  It  was  held  on  the 
parade.  The  minister  was  a  Mr.  McCarty,  the  chaplain 
of  the  Second  Brigade,  First  Division.  Many  officers 
and  soldiers  were  grouped  around.  I  endeavored  to 
give  thanks  to  our  heavenly  Father  for  all  his  mercies  to 
me,  for  his  preservation  of  me  through  all  the  dangers  I 
have  passed,  and  all  the  blessings  which  he  has  bestowed 
upon  me,  for  I  know  I  fall  far  short  of  my  obligations. 
We  move  out  to-morrow  toward  Pueblo.  The  First 
Brigade — Duncan's  battery,  light  infantry  and  cavalry — 
form  the  advance.  I  accompany  the  advance.  General 
Worth  will  remain  a  day  or  two  with  the  remainder  of 
his  division  till  the  Second  Division,  under  General 
Twiggs,  shall  arrive.  General  Scott  is  still  at  Jalapa, 
Major  Smith  with  him.  I  have  with  me  Lieutenants 
Mason,  Tower,  and  the  Engineer  Company.  In  advance, 
all  is  uncertain  and  the  accounts  contradictory.  We 
must  trust  to  an  overruling  Providence,  by  whom  we 
will  be  governed  for  the  best,  and  to  our  own  re 
sources." 

And  in  another  letter  to  his  eldest  son,  dated  same 
day  and  place,  he  writes:  "I  thought  of  you,  my  dear 
Custis,  on  the  i8th  in  the  battle,  and  wondered,  when 
the  musket  balls  and  grape  were  whistling  over  my  head 
in  a  perfect  shower,  where  I  could  put  you  if  with  me  to 
be  safe.  I  was  truly  thankful  that  you  were  at  school, 
I  hope  learning  to  be  good  and  wise.  You  have  no 
idea  what  a  horrible  sight  a  battlefield  is."  The  writer 
then  describes  to  him  the  battle  of  Cerro  Gordo,  and 
tells  him  about  the  dead  and  dying  Mexicans ;  how  he 


BIRTH.— CAREER   AS   OFFICER  OF   ENGINEERS.    41 

had  them  carried  to  a  house  by  the  roadside,  where  they 
were  attended  by  Mexican  surgeons ;  of  his  finding  by 
the  side  of  a  hut  a  little  Mexican  boy  who  had  been  a 
bugler  or  drummer,  with  his  arm  terribly  shattered,  and 
how  a  large  Mexican  soldier,  in  the  last  agonies  of  death, 
had  fallen  on  him  ;  how  he  was  attracted  to  the  scene  by 
the  grief  of  a  little  girl ;  how  he  had  the  dying  Mexican 
taken  off  the  boy,  and  how  grateful  the  little  girl  was. 
"  Her  large  black  eyes,"  he  said,  "  were  streaming  with 
tears,  her  hands  crossed  over  her  breast;  her  hair  in  one 
long  plait  behind  reached  her  waist,  her  shoulders  and 
arms  bare,  and  without  stockings  or  shoes.  Her  plain 
tive  tone  of  *  Mille  gracias,  Signor,'  as  I  had  the  dying 
man  lifted  off  the  boy  and  both  carried  to  the  hospital, 
still  lingers  in  my  ear.  After  I  had  broken  a  way  through 
the  chaparral  and  turned  toward  Cerro  Gordo  I  mounted 
Creole,  who  stepped  over  the  dead  men  with  such  care 
as  if  she  feared  to  hurt  them,  but  when  I  started  with 
the  dragoons  in  the  pursuit,  she  was  as  fierce  as  possi 
ble,  and  I  could  hardly  hold  her." 

From  Cerro  Gbrdo  to  the  capital  of  Mexico,  Captain 
Lee  at  every  point  increased  the  reputation  he  was  ac 
quiring.  At  Contreras,  Churubusco,  Molino  del  Rey, 
and  Chapultepec  he  was  constantly  in  the  saddle,  per 
forming  with  alacrity  and  courage  the  duties  of  a  trusted 
staff  officer.  "  Before  the  battle  of  Contreras,"  wrote 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  soldiers  of  that  war, 
"  General  Scott's  troops  had  become  separated  in  the 
field  of  Pedrigal,  and  it  was  necessary  to  communicate 
instruction  to  those  on  the  other  side  of  this  barrier  of 
rocks  and  lava.  General  Scott  says  in  his  report  that  he 
had  sent  seven  officers  since  about  sundown  to  commu 
nicate  instructions ;  they  had  all  returned  without  get 
ting  through,  but  the  gallant  and  indefatigable  Captain 
Lee,  of  the  engineers,  who  has  been  constantly  with  the 
operating  forces,  is  just  in  from  Shields,  Smith,  Cad- 
walader,  etc.  .  .  ." 

Subsequently  Scott,  while  giving  testimony  before  a 
court  of  inquiry,  said :  "  Captain  Lee,  of  the  engineers, 
came  to  me  from  Contreras  with  a  message  from  Briga 
dier-General  Smith.  I  think  about  the  same  time  (mid 
night)  he,  having  passed  over  the  difficult  ground  by 


42  GENERAL   LEE. 

daylight,  found  it  just  possible  to  return  on  foot  and 
alone  to  St.  Augustine  in  the  dark,  the  greatest  feat  of 
physical  and  moral  courage  performed  by  any  individual 
to  my  knowledge,  pending  the  campaign." 

His  deeds  of  personal  daring,  his  scientific  counsels, 
his  coup  d'ceil  of  the  battlefield,  his  close  personal  recon- 
noissances  under  the  scorching  rays  of  a  tropical  sun, 
amid  the  lightning's  flash  or  thunder's  roar,  did  much  to 
mold  the  key  which  unlocked  the  gates  of  the  Golden 
City.  The  reports  of  his  commander  are  filled  with  com 
mendations  of  his  bravery  :  "  That  he  was  as  famous 
for  felicitous  execution  as  for  science  and  daring  "  ;  that 
at  "  Chapultepec  Captain  Lee  was  constantly  con 
spicuous,  bearing  important  orders"  from  him,  "till  he 
fainted  from  a  wound  and  the  loss  of  two  nights'  sleep 
at  the  batteries."  This  veteran  general,  in  referring 
afterward  to  this  campaign,  was  heard  to  say  that  his 
"  success  in  Mexico  was  largely  due  to  the  skill,  valor, 
and  undaunted  courage  of  Robert  E.  Lee,"  and  that  he 
was  "  the  greatest  military  genius  in  America,  the  best 
soldier  that  he  ever  saw  in  the  field,  and  that  if  oppor 
tunity  offered,  he  would  show  himself  the  foremost  cap 
tain  of  his  time." 

It  is  certain  that  Captain  Lee  came  from  this  Mexi 
can  campaign  crowned  with  honors  and  covered  with 
brevets  for  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct.  In  a  brief 
six  months'  campaign  he  had  demonstrated  in  a  wonder 
ful  manner  his  qualities  as  a  soldier.  He  was  then  forty 
years  old.  Brevet  major,  brevet  lieutenant  colonel,  and 
brevet  colonel  followed  each  other  in  rapid  succession. 
An  examination  of  his  career  in  Mexico  will  show  that 
the  flanks  of  the  hostile  army  were  his  favorite  points 
of  reconnoissance.  If  they  could  be  successfully  turned, 
victory  would  save  human  life  ;  a  reference  to  his  cam 
paigns,  when  he  afterward  became  an  army  commander, 
will  show  that  the  flanks  of  his  enemy  were  still  objects 
of  his  greatest  attention. 

The  Mexican  campaign  was  finished,  and  the  Peace 
Treaty  occupied  the  front  rank  of  importance.  In  a 
letter  to  his  wife,  dated  City  of  Mexico,  February  8, 
1848,  Captain  Lee  says:  "You  will  doubtless  hear  many 
speculations  about  peace.  The  boundary  is  said  to  be 


BIRTH.— CAREER  AS   OFFICER   OF   ENGINEERS. 


43 


the  Rio  Grande,  giving  us  Texas,  New  Mexico,  Califor 
nia,  for  which  we  pay  twenty  million  dollars — five  mil 
lions  to  be  reserved  for  liquidation  of  claims  of  her  citi 
zens.  These  are  certainly  not  hard  terms  for  Mexico, 
considering  how  the  fortune  of  war  has  been  against  her. 
For  myself,  I  would  not  exact  now  more  than  I  would 
have  taken  before  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  as  I 
should  wish  nothing  but  what  was  just,  and  that  I  would 
have  sooner  or  later.  I  can  readily  see  that  the  terms 
said  to  be  offered  on  the  part  of  Mexico  may  not  prove 
satisfactory  to  a  large  part  of  our  country,  who  would 
think  it  right  to  exact  everything  that  power  and  might 
could  require.  Some  would  sacrifice  everything  under 
the  hope  that  the  proposition  of  Messrs.  Clay,  Calhoun, 
etc.,  would  be  acted  upon,  and  save  what  they  term  the 
national  honor.  Believing  that  peace  would  be  for  the 
advantage  of  both  countries,  I  hope  that  some  terms, 
just  to  one  and  not  dishonorable  to  the  other,  may  be 
agreed  on,  and  that  speedily." 

And  again,  five  days  later  :  "  If  any  early  session  of 
the  Mexican  Congress  can  be  obtained,  I  have  still  hopes 
that  the  treaty  will  be  ratified,  though  1  think  the 
speeches  and  resolutions  of  some  of  our  leading  men, 
and  probably  by  this  time  some  action  of  Congress,  may 
so  confuse  the  Mexican  mind  in  reference  to  her  future 
course  as  to  encourage  the  recusant  members  to  absent 
themselves  so  as  to  defeat  it.  I  think  it  is  late  on  our 
part  to  stop  now  to  demonstrate  who  are  the  first  ag 
gressors.  It  is  certain  we  are  the  conquerors  in  a  regu 
lar  war,  and  by  the  laws  of  nations  are  entitled  to  dic 
tate  the  terms  of  peace.  We  have  fought  well  and  fought 
fairly.  We  hold  and  can  continue  to  hold  their  coun 
try,  and  have  a  right  to  exact  compensation  for  the 
expenses  of  a  war  continued,  if  not  provoked,  by  ig 
norance  and  vanity  on  the  part  of  Mexico.  It  is  true 
we  bullied  her.  For  that  I  am  ashamed,  for  she  was 
the  weaker  party,  but  we  have  since,  by  way  of  set-off, 
drubbed  her  handsomely  and  in  a  manner  no  man  might 
be  ashamed  of.  They  begin  to  be  aware  how  entirely 
they  are  beaten,  and  are  willing  to  acknowledge  it.  The 
treaty  gives  us  all  the  land  we  want ;  the  amount  we 
pay  is  a  trifle,  and  is  the  cheapest  way  of  ending  the 


44  GENERAL   LEE. 

war.  How  it  will  all  end  I  can  not  say,  but  will  trust  to 
a  kind  Providence,  who  will,  I  believe,  order  all  things 
for  the  best." 

The  brighter  the  deeds  of  the  soldier  and  statesman, 
the  greater  the  opportunity  for  the  shaft  of  the  critic. 
General  Scott's  behavior  to  a  subordinate  drew  upon  him 
a  court  of  inquiry.  In  a  letter  to  his  wife,  dated  City  of 
Mexico,  March  15,  1848,  he  says:  "The  members  of  the 
court  to  sit  on  General  Scott  have  arrived,  and  begin 
proceedings  to-day.  I  fear  nothing  for  General  Scott, 
if  the  whole  truth  be  known,  though  the  whole  country 
will  have  suffered  by  his  suspension.  The  prospects  of 
peace  seem  to  be  brightening,  and  all  may  yet  be  well." 

Naturally,  when  the  objective  point  in  a  campaign  has 
been  reached,  and  the  swords  go  to  the  scabbards  and 
the  guns  are  stacked,  the  distribution  of  the  rewards  for 
meritorious  services  are  of  much  interest  to  the  friends 
of  those  who  perform  them.  Mr.  Custis,  of  Arlington, 
was  properly  concerned  about  the  claims  to  honorable 
official  mention  of  his  son-in-law,  and  wrote  to  him  on 
the  subject,  and  the  reply  he  received  was  eminently 
characteristic  of  that  modest  officer : 

CITY  OF  MEXICO,  April 8,  1848. 

I  hope  my  friends  will  give  themselves  no  annoyance  on  my 
account,  or  any  concern  about  the  distribution  of  favors.  I  know 
how  those  things  are  awarded  at  Washington,  and  how  the 
President  will  be  besieged  by  clamorous  claimants.  I  do  not 
wish  to  be  numbered  among  them.  Such  as  he  can  conscien 
tiously  bestow,  I  shall  gratefully  receive,  and  have  no  doubt  that 
those  will  exceed  my  deserts.  It  is  a  singular  coincidence  that  in 
1836  Santa  Anna,  as  he  passed  through  Fredericktown,  Md., 
should  have  found  General  Scott  before  the  court  of  inquiry 
clapped  upon  him  by  General  Jackson.  Our  present  President 
thought  perhaps  he  ought  to  afford  the  gratification  to  the  same 
individual  to  see  Scott  before  another  court  in  presence  of  the 
troops  he  commanded.  I  hope,  however,  all  will  terminate  in 
good.  The  discontent  in  the  army  at  this  state  of  things  is  great. 

Captain  Lee  was  a  great  observer  of  Nature :  he 
loved  the  country,  the  bright  foliage  of  trees,  the  run 
ning  waters,  and  flowery  grasses.  His  beautiful  mare 
carried  him  to  all  points  outside  of  the  city.  To  Mrs. 
Lee  he  writes : 


BIRTH.-CAREER   AS   OFFICER   OF    ENGINEERS.    45 

CITY  OF  MEXICO,  April  12,  1848. 

I  rode  out  a  few  days  since  for  the  first  time  to  the  "  Church 
of  Our  Lady  of  Remedies."  It  is  situated  on  a  hill  at  the  ter 
mination  of  the  mountains  west  of  the  city,  and  is  said  to  be  the 
spot  to  which  Cortez  retreated  after  being  driven  from  the  city 
on  the  memorable  "  noche  triste."  I  saw  the  cedar  tree  at  Popot- 
la,  some  miles  nearer  the  city,  in  which  it  is  said  he  passed  a  por 
tion  of  that  night.  The  trees  of  the  "  noche  triste  " — so  called  from 
their  blooming-  about  the  period  of  that  event — were  in  full  bloom. 
The  flower  is  a  round  ellipsoid,  and  of  the  most  magnificent  scar 
let  color.  The  Holy  Image  was  standing  on  a  large  silver 
maguey  plant,  with  a  rich  crown  on  her  head.  There  were  no 
votaries  at  her  shrine,  which  was  truly  magnificent,  but  near  the 
entrance  of  the  church,  on  either  side,  were  the  offerings  of  those 
whom  she  had  relieved.  They  consisted  of  representations  in 
wax  of  those  parts  of  the  human  body  that  she  cured  of  the  dis 
eases  with  which  they  had  been  afflicted. 

The  inactive  life  was  growing  burdensome.  The 
strains  of  "  Home,  sweet  home  "  were  falling  on  the  ears 
of  the  Americans,  and  their  hearts  were  beating  in  antic 
ipation  of  meeting  once  more  relatives  and  friends.  In 
a  letter,  dated  City  of  Mexico,  May  21,  1848,  he  writes 
to  his  naval  brother,  Sydney  Smith  Lee  : 

MY  DEAR  ROSE  (he  calls  him  by  a  pet  name) :  I  have  a  little 
good  news  to  tell  you  this  evening  and  as  little  time  to  tell  it  in. 
The  mail  from  Quereton  last  night  brought  letters  from  reliable 
persons,  one  of  whom  I  saw,  stating  that  on  the  evening  of  the 
1 5th  inst.  a  vote  was  taken  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  on  the  gen 
eral  passage  of  the  Treaty  of  Peace  and  carried  in  the  affirmative 
by  forty-eight  votes  to  thirty-six.  That  it  would  come  up  on  the 
1 9th  on  its  final  passage,  and,  after  being  passed,  be  sent  to  the 
Senate,  where  it  would  undoubtedly  pass  by  an  unusual  majority 
and  probably  by  the  24th.  So  certain  was  its  passage  through 
the  Senate  considered,  that  the  President,  Pena  y  Pena,  had  de 
termined,  as  soon  as  it  had  finally  passed  the  Deputies,  to  write 
our  Commissioners  to  Quereton  to  be  ready  to  make  the  inter 
change,  etc.  This  morning  at  10  A.  M.  a  special  express  arrived 
from  Quereton  with  the  intelligence  of  the  final  passage  by  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies  of  the  Treaty,  with  all  the  modifications  of 
our  Senate,  by  a  vote  of  fifty-one  to  thirty-five.  It  therefore  only 
wants  the  confirmation  of  the  Senate,  of  which  those  who  ought 
to  know,  say  there  is  no  doubt.  We  all  feel  quite  exhilarated  at 
the  prospect  of  getting  home,  when  I  shall  again  see  you  and  my 
dear  Sis  Nannie.  Where  will  you  be  this  summer?  I  have 
heard  that  the  Commissioners  start  for  Quereton  to-morrow.  I 


46  GENERAL   LEE. 

know  not  whether  it  is  true.  General  Smith  will  probably  leave 
here  for  Vera  Cruz  on  the  24th  or  25th  to  make  arrangements 
for  the  embarkation  of  troops.  As  soon  as  it  is  certain  that  we 
march  out,  and  I  make  the  necessary  arrangements  for  the  en 
gineer  transportation,  etc.,  I  shall  endeavor  to  be  off.  I  shall 
therefore  leave  everything  till  I  see  you.  Several  of  your  naval 
boys  are  here  who  will  be  obliged  to  "  cut  out."  Love  to  Sis 
Nannie  and  the  boys.  Rhett  Buchanan  and  all  friends  are  well. 
Very  truly  and  affectionately,  R.  E.  LEE. 

Again  :  "  Mr.  Gardner  and  Mr.  Trist  depart  to-mor 
row.  I  had  hoped  that  after  the  President  had  adopted 
Mr.  Trist's  treaty,  and  the  Senate  confirmed  it,  they 
would  have  paid  him  the  poor  compliment  of  allowing 
him  to  finish  it,  as  some  compensation  for  all  the  abuse 
they  had  heaped  upon  him ;  but,  I  presume,  it  is  per 
fectly  fair,  having  made  use  of  his  labors  and  taken 
from  him  all  he  had  earned,  that  he  should  be  kicked  off 
as  General  Scott  has  been,  whose  skill  and  science,,  hav 
ing  crushed  the  enemy  and  conquered  a  peace,  can  now 
be  dismissed  and  turned  out  as  an  old  horse  to  die." 

In  Scott's  army  in  Mexico  at  that  time  were  many 
subordinate  officers  fighting  under  a  common  flag,  who 
were  destined  to  become  familiar  to  the  public  four 
teen  years  afterward  by  the  skill  and  courage  with 
which  they  fought  each  other.  Their  swords,  then 
drawn  for  victory  against  a  common  foe,  were  to  be 
pointed  against  each  other's  breasts,  and  those  who 
had  slept  beneath  the  same  blanket,  drank  from  the 
same  canteen,  and  formed  those  ties  of  steel  which  are 
strongest  when  pledged  amid  common  dangers  around 
a  common  mess  table,  were  to  be  marshaled  under  the 
banners  of  opposing  armies.  Ulysses  S.  Grant  was 
then  twenty-five  years  old,  a  lieutenant  of  the  Fourth 
Infantry,  self-reliant,  brave,  and  fertile  in  resources. 
He  fought  with  old  "  Zach  "  at  Palo  Alto,  Resaca  de 
la  Palma,  and  at  Monterey ;  was  at  Vera  Cruz,  and 
in  all  the  battles  which  followed  until  the  Mexican 
capital  was  entered.  George  Gordon  Meade  was  an 
officer  of  topographical  engineers,  first  on  the  staff  of 
General  Taylor  and  afterward  on  the  staff  of  General 
Patterson  at  Vera  Cruz.  There  too  was  George  B.  Mc- 
Clellan,  twenty-one  years  old,  as  an  engineer  officer,  who 


BIRTH.— CAREER  AS   OFFICER   OF   ENGINEERS.    47 

received  brevets  as  first  lieutenant  and  captain  for  his 
bravery  in  battle.  Irvin  McDowell,  who  afterward  be 
came  first  commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  was 
aid-de-camp  to  General  John  E.  Wool.  George  H. 
Thomas  was  second  lieutenant,  Third  Artillery,  and  was 
brevetted  three  times  for  gallantry;  Joseph  Hooker  was 
assistant  adjutant  general  on  the  staff  of  General  Persi- 
for  F.  Smith  ;  Gideon  J.  Pillow  was  brevetted  three  times. 
Ambrose  E.  Burnside  joined  the  army  on  its  march,  with 
some  recruits.  Winfield  Scott  Hancock  was  there  as 
second  lieutenant,  Sixth  Infantry,  twenty-three  years 
of  age,  and  was  brevetted  for  his  conduct  at  Contreras 
and  Churubusco.  There  too  was  Albert  Sidney  Johnston 
of  the  First  (Texas)  Rifles  and  afterward  inspector 
general  of  Butler's  division  ;  so  also  Joseph  E.  Johnston, 
lieutenant  colonel  of  voltigeurs,  wounded  twice  and 
brevetted  three  times.  Braxton  Bragg  was  present  as  a 
captain  of  a  light  battery  in  the  Third  Artillery,  the  first 
man  to  plant  the  regimental  colors  on  the  rampart  of 
Chapultepec;  and  there  too  was  Thomas  Jonathan  Jack 
son,  twenty-three  years  old,  second  lieutenant  of  Ma- 
gruder's  light  battery  of  artillery.  Young  in  years  and 
rank,  he  gave  early  evidence  of  those  qualities  of  a  sol 
dier  for  which  he  became  distinguished  under  the  name 
of  Stonewall  Jackson.  Magruder,  his  captain,  com 
mended  him  highly  in  his  report,  writing  that  "  if  de 
votion,  industry,  talent,  and  gallantry  are  the  highest 
qualities  of  a  soldier,  then  Lieutenant  Jackson  is  en 
titled  to  the  distinction  which  their  possession  confers.'* 
In  the  army  also  was  Longstreet,  lieutenant  of  infantry, 
twenty-six  years  old,  brevetted  twice  and  wounded  at 
Chapultepec;  and  Magruder,  known  among  his  com 
rades  as  "  Prince  John,"  from  courtly  manners,  distin 
guished  appearance,  and  fine  conversational  powers,  who 
commanded  a  light  battery  in  Pillow's  division,  was  twice 
brevetted  and  wounded  at  Chapultepec.  John  Sedgwick 
was  with  the  army,  first  lieutenant  of  artillery,  a  class 
mate  of  Bragg  and  Early  and  Hooker,  twice  brevetted ; 
and  so  was  Richard  S.  Ewell,  a  typical  dragoon  ;  Am 
brose  P.  Hill,  only  twenty-one  years  old,  second  lieuten 
ant  of  the  First  Artillery;  and  Daniel  H.  Hill,  Jubal 
Early,  and  many  others  who  afterward  became  famous. 


48  GENERAL  LEE. 

Little  did  these  young  fellows,  who  marched,  bivou 
acked,  fought,  and  bled  side  by  side  on  the  burning 
sands  of  old  Mexico,  imagine  that  in  less  than  two  de 
cades  McDowell  would  be  training  his  guns  on  John 
ston  and  Beauregard  at  first  Manassas,  while  McClellan, 
Pope,  Burnside,  Hooker,  Meade,  and  Grant  would  each 
in  turn  test  the  prowess  of  Lee;  nor  did  their  old  com 
mander,  Scott,  dream  he  was  training  these  young  men 
in  practical  strategy,  grand  tactics,  and  the  science  of 
war,  in  order  that  they  might  direct  the  information  thus 
acquired  against  each  other. 

The  memory  of  Winfield  Scott  has  not  been  securely 
embalmed  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  the  Southern 
States,  because  he  was  a  Virginian  who  did  not  resign 
his  commission  in  the  United  States  Army  and  tender 
his  sword  to  his  native  State  in  1861.  It  should  be  re 
membered,  however,  that  for  over  half  a  century  he  had 
fought  for  the  flag  and  worn  the  uniform  of  the  army 
of  the  United  States,  and  had  been  permanently  partially 
disabled  by  wounds.  Before  his  Mexican  campaign  he 
had  served  with  distinction  from  where  the  Northern 
lakes  are  bound  in  icy  fetters,  to  Florida,  the  land  of 
sun  and  flowers,  in  a  great  degree  losing  touch  with  the 
citizens  of  States.  In  fifty-three  years  of  continuous 
army  service  he  had  developed  into  a  sort  of  national 
military  machine,  and  when  war  began  between  the  States 
of  the  North  and  those  of  the  South  he  was  seventy- 
five  years  old.  Neither  the  Indian  "  Black  Hawk,"  with 
his  Sacs  and  Foxes,  the  Seminoles,  the  Mexicans,  nor  the 
unhappy  condition  of  his  own  land,  greatly  disturbed 
him,  for  already  his  vision  was  fixed  "  across  the  river," 
and  his  tent  was  being  erected  upon  the  eternal  camp 
ing  ground.  Naturally,  he  wanted  to  go  to  his  grave 
wrapped  in  the  folds  of  the  starry  flag  he  had  so  long 
defended.  In  the  North  his  decision  was  highly  ap 
plauded;  in  the  South  opinion  was  divided.  In  the 
estimation  of  some,  he  should  have  returned  to  his 
mother  Commonwealth,  for,  under  their  construction  of 
our  forms  of  Government,  his  first  allegiance  was  due  to 
her.  Others,  however,  heartily  concurred  in  his  decision 
to  remain  in  the  North,  because  "  he  might  have  been  in 
the  way."  The  solemn  game  of  war  can  only  be  played 


BIRTH.— CAREER  AS   OFFICER   OF   ENGINEERS. 


49 


by  active  participants,  and  when  a  soldier  becomes  in 
active  his  place  is  in  the  rear  rank.  The  aged  warrior 
was  consigned  to  a  back  seat  by  the  Federal  War  De 
partment,  and  quietly  waited  the  summons  of  the  trumpet 
of  the  Angel  of  Death.  It  is  true  Scott  was  pompous 
and  vain  of  a  splendid  physical  appearance,  and  had  a 
full  appreciation  of  the  high  and  distinguished  posi 
tion  he  had  attained,  but  he  was  a  soldier  of  undoubted 
military  capacity.  The  people  nicknamed  him  "  Fuss 
and  Feathers,"  because,  in  gaudy  uniform,  he  sometimes 
made  the  atmosphere  blue  around  him  and  imparted  to 
it  a  smell  of  sulphur  when  things  did  not  go  exactly  to 
suit  him.  He  was  a  disciple  of  the  doctrine  of  Epicurus 
so  far  as  it  related  to  the  organ  of  taste.  When  he  in 
dulged  in  "  a  hasty  plate  of  soup  "  it  was  unavoidable, 
and  he  has  been  known  to  raise  a  storm  because  the 
guest  at  his  table  would  cut  lettuce  instead  of  rolling 
the  leaf  around  his  fork  so  as  not  to  bruise  it.  The 
old  soldier  is  resting  quietly  now  where  the  "  Hudson's 
silvery  sands  roll  'mid  the  hills  afar,"  and  if  he  lacked 
to  some  degree  personal  popularity,  was  without  mag 
netic  influence,  and  did  not  possess  that  power  which 
Carnot  calls  the  "  Glory  of  the  soldier  and  the  strength 
of  armies,"  he  is  remembered  by  the  whole  country  as  a 
courteous  and  chivalric  gentleman  and  as  a  great  com 
mander  of  true  military  genius. 

His  unswerving  friendship  for  Robert  E.  Lee  and 
his  never-failing  belief  in  his  military  ability  was  dem 
onstrated  by  his  recommendation  that  he  should  be 
his  successor,  and  which  doubtless  prompted  the  United 
States  Government  to  offer  to  Brevet-Colonel  Lee  the 
position  of  commander  in  chief  of  their  armies  in  1861. 

"  Peace  hath  her  victories  no  less  than  war."    A  treaty 
was  ratified  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico  which 
was  received  with  joy  by  the  inhabitants  of  both  coun 
tries,  and  was  most  heartily  welcomed  by  the  Americans 
in  Mexico.     Captain  Lee  was  once  more  at  home,  bear 
ing  with  him  the  plaudits  of  the  army  and  the  high  ap- 
?reciation  of  its  commander.    He  wrote  from  Arlington, 
une  30,  1848,  to  his  brother  of  the  navy : 

Here  I  am  once  again,  my  dear  Smith,  perfectly  surrounded 
by  Mary  and  her  precious  children,  who  seem  to  devote  them- 


£O  GENERAL   LEE. 

selves  to  staring  at  the  furrows  in  my  face  and  the  white  hairs  in 
my  head.  It  is  not  surprising  that  I  am  hardly  recognizable  to 
some  of  the  young  eyes  around  me  and  perfectly  unknown  to  the 
youngest,  but  some  of  the  older  ones  gaze  with  astonishment  and 
wonder  at  me,  and  seem  at  a  loss  to  reconcile  what  they  see  and 
what  was  pictured  in  their  imaginations.  I  find  them  too  much 
grown,  and  all  well,  and  I  have  much  cause  for  thankfulness  and 
gratitude  to  that  good  God  who  has  once  more  united  us.  I  was 
greeted  on  my  arrival  by  your  kind  letter,  which  was  the  next 
thing  to  seeing  you  in  person.  I  wish  I  could  say  when  I  shall 
be  able  to  visit  you,  but  I  as  yet  know  nothing  of  the  intention  of 
the  Department  concerning  me,  and  can  not  now  tell  what  my 
movements  will  be.  Mary  has  recently  returned  from  a  visit  to 
poor  Anne,*  and  gives  a  pitiable  account  of  her  distress.  You 
may  have  heard  of  her  having  hurt  her  left  hand  ;  she  is  now 
consequently  without  the  use  of  either,  and  can  not  even  feed 
herself.  She  has  suffered  so  much  that  it  is  not  wonderful  her 
spirits  should  be  depressed.  She  sent  many  injunctions  that  I 
must  come  to  her  before  even  unpacking  my  trunk,  and  I  think  of 
running  over  there  for  a  day  after  the  Fourth  of  July,  if  practicable. 
You  say  L  must  let  you  know  when  I  am  ready  to  receive  visits. 
Now  !  Have  you  any  desire  to  see  the  celebration,  etc.,  of  the  Fourth 
of  July  ?  Bring  Sis  Nannie  and  the  little  ones  ;  I  long  to  see  you 
all ;  I  only  arrived  yesterday,  after  a  long  journey  up  the  Mississippi, 
which  route  I  was  induced  to  take  for  the  better  accommodation 
of  my  horse,  as  I  wished  to  spare  her  as  much  annoyance  and 
fatigue  as  possible,  she  already  having  undergone  so  much  suf 
fering  in  my  service.  I  landed  her  at  Wheeling  and  left  her  to 
come  over  with  Jim.  I  have  seen  but  few  of  our  friends  as  yet, 
but  hear  they  are  all  well.  Cousin  Anna  is  at  Ravensworth.  I 
met  Mrs.  John  Mason  yesterday  as  I  passed  through  W.  All  her 
people  are  well.  I  hear  that  that  pretty  Rhett,  hearing  of  my 
arrival,  ran  off  yesterday  evening  to  take  refuge  with  you.  Never 
mind,  there  is  another  person  coming  from  Mexico  from  whom 
she  can  not  hide  herself.  Tell  her  with  my  regrets  that  I  brought 
muchas  cosas  from  her  young  rifleman,  who  is  as  bright  and 
handsome  as  ever.  No,  Sis  Nannie,  your  sister  was  not  here 
when  I  arrived.  Are  you  satisfied  ?  She  had  gone  to  Alexandria 
to  learn  the  news  and  do  a  little  shopping,  but  I  have  laid  violent 
hands  on  her  now.  An  opportunity  has  just  offered  to  the  Post- 
office  and  I  have  scribbled  off  this  to  assure  you  of  my  love  and 
remembrance.  With  much  love  to  Sis  Nannie  and  the  children, 
and  kind  regards  to  Mrs.  R.  and  Misses  V.  and  C,  I  remain, 
Affectionately  your  brother, 

R.  E.  LEE. 


*  His  sister,  Mrs.  Marshall. 


BIRTH.— CAREER  AS   OFFICER   OF   ENGINEERS.     51 

After  the  Treaty  of  Peace  with  Mexico,  Lee  was  as 
signed  to  the  important  duty  of  constructing  works  for 
the  defense  of  the  harbor  of  Baltimore,  and  was  so  oc 
cupied  until  1852,  when  he  was  made  Superintendent  of 
the  United  States  Military  Academy,  from  whose  walls 
he  had  emerged  as  a  cadet  twenty-three  years  before. 
At  West  Point  he  was  employed  for  three  years  in 
watching  over  the  drill,  discipline,  and  studies  of  cadets, 
who  were  one  day  to  become  officers  of  the  army.  The 
detail  was  a  complimentary  one,  and  the  office  of  super 
intendent  at  that  time,  by  law,  could  only  be  filled  by 
engineer  officers.  His  accustomed  ability  was  displayed 
in  these  new  duties,  and  the  Academy  received  great 
benefit  from  a  sagacious  administration  of  its  affairs. 
While  so  engaged,  Mrs.  Lee's  mother — Mrs.  Custis — 
died.  She  was  a  perfect  type  of  the  Christian  woman : 
soft  in  manner,  kind  in  heart,  affectionate  in  nature,  and 
refined  and  ladylike  in  everything.  From  West  Point, 
April  27,  1853,  Captain  Lee  writes  to  his  wife:  "May 
God  give  you  strength  to  enable  you  to  bear  and  say, 
'  His  will  be  done.'  She  has  gone  from  all  trouble,  care, 
and  sorrow,  to  a  holy  immortality,  there  to  rejoice  and 
praise  forever  the  God  and  Saviour  she  so  long  and  truly 
served.  Let  that  be  our  comfort  and  that  our  consola 
tion.  May  our  death  be  like  hers,  and  may  we  meet  in 
happiness  in  heaven."  And  later,  on  the  loth  of  May, 
he  says :  "  She  was  to  me  all  that  a  mother  could  be, 
and  I  yield  to  none  in  admiration  for  her  character,  love 
for  her  virtues,  and  veneration  for  her  memory." 


CHAPTER   III. 

A    CAVALRY    OFFICER    OF    THE    ARMY    OF    THE    UNITED 
STATES. 

His  term  of  office  at  West  Point  terminated  by  his 
assignment  to  cavalry.  The  great  civilizing  arms  of  the 
United  States  had  been  extended  so  as  to  embrace  large 
extents  of  territory,  and  more  cavalry  was  required. 
An  expenditure  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  millions  of 
dollars,  thirty  victories  in  Mexico,  and  the  capture  of 
ten  fortified  places,  including  the  capital  city  of  the 
enemy,  resulted  in  adding  to  the  Republic  New  Mexico, 
Arizona,  Utah,  Nevada,  and  California.  The  increase 
in  population  made  it  necessary  to  increase  the  army  in 
order  to  give  full  protection  to  all  citizens  within  the 
new  boundary  lines.  After  the  United  States  had  secured 
independence,  cavalry  was  not  at  first  recognized  as  a 
component  part  of  the  regular  army.  The  first  mounted 
regiment,  called  the  First  Dragoons,  was  not  organized 
until  1833.  Then  followed  the  Second  Dragoons  in 
1836,  and  in  1846  another  regiment  was  added,  desig 
nated  as  "  Mounted  Riflemen."  With  a  vast  extent  of 
territory  and  a  population  of  whites  numbering  about 
twenty  millions  in  1855,  the  cavalry  arm  of  the  service 
consisted  of  but  three  regiments.  General  Scott,  in  his 
report  of  the  operations  of  the  army  for  1853,  first  urged 
that  the  army  be  increased  by  two  regiments  of  dragoons 
and  two  regiments  of  infantry.  The  following  year 
Hon.  Jefferson  Davis,  then  Secretary  of  War,  renewed 
the  commander  in  chief's  recommendation,  and  Presi 
dent  Pierce  asked  its  favorable  consideration  by  Con 
gress,  stating  that  the  army  was  of  "  inestimable  im 
portance  as  the  nucleus  around  which  the  volunteer 
force  of  the  nation  can  promptly  gather  in  the  hour  of 

(52) 


AN  OFFICER   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES  ARMY.    53 

danger."  And  that  he  thought  it  "wise  to  maintain  a 
military  peace  establishment."  Mr.  R.  M.  T.  Hunter, 
at  that  time  a  distinguished  senator  in  Congress  from 
the  State  of  Virginia,  offered  an  amendment  to  the  Army 
Appropriation  Bill  which  had  passed  the  House  in  1854, 
authorizing  the  increase  of  the  army  by  two  regiments 
of  cavalry  and  five  hundred  mounted  volunteers,  who 
were  to  serve  for  twelve  months.  James  Shields,  an 
Irishman  by  birth,  who  had  served  conspicuously  in  the 
Mexican  War  as  a  brigadier  general,  and  who  was  then 
a  senator  from  the  State  of  Illinois,  offered  a  substitute 
to  Hunter's  amendment,  embodying  the  views  of  his 
former  commander  in  chief,  Scott.  A  protracted  de 
bate  resulted.  Sam  Houston,  of  Texas,  and  Thomas 
H.  Benton,  of  Missouri,  led  the  opposition  to  the  meas 
ure,  the  former  saying  that  in  the  Texas  Republic,  be 
fore  its  annexation  to  the  United  States,  the  expenses 
of  the  Indian  War  had  not  exceeded  ten  thousand  dol 
lars  a  year,  and  that  the  settlers  had  better  protection 
against  hostile  tribes  of  Indians  than  they  had  received 
from  regiments  of  the  regular  army,  while  the  latter  in 
dulged  in  a  tirade  of  abuse  against  the  army  generally, 
calling  them  "  schoolhouse  officers  and  pothouse  sol 
diers  " ;  that  he  did  not  believe  the  aim  of  the  Adminis 
tration  was  to  relieve  the  frontier  settlements,  but  to  fur 
nish  places  for  graduates  of  West  Point  and  the  friends 
of  the  Secretary  of  War,  stating  that  the  object  of 
Mr.  Pierce  and  Jefferson  Davis  was  the  ultimate  con 
quest  of  the  island  of  Cuba. 

These  views  seem  to  have  made  an  impression  upon 
some  sections  of  the  country.  The  Comte  de  Paris 
adopted  them  in  his  History  of  the  Civil  War  in  Amer 
ica.  He  says:  "In  1855  Congress  passed  a  law  au 
thorizing  the  formation  of  two  new  regiments  of  cav 
alry,  and  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  then  Secretary  of  War, 
took  advantage  of  the  fact  that  they  had  not  been  des 
ignated  by  the  title  of  dragoons  to  treat  them  as  a  dif 
ferent  arm,  and  to  fill  them  with  his  creatures,  to  the 
exclusion  of  regular  officers,  whom  he  disliked."  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  comte  was  writing  with 
limited  knowledge.  His  epithet  was  applied  to  such 
officers  as  Sumner,  Sedgwick,  McClellan,  Emory,  Thomas, 


54  GENERAL   LEE. 

Stoneman,  Stanley,  Carr,  etc.,  who  served  with  much 
distinction  on  the  Union  side  of  the  war  from  1861  to 
1865;  as  well  as  to  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  Joseph  E. 
Johnston,  Lee,  Hardee,  Kirby  Smith,  Field,  Hood,  J.  E. 
B.  Stuart,  and  a  number  of  others  who  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  South  in  the  late  war — "  names  the  world 
will  not  willingly  let  die."  Edwin  Sumner  was  promoted 
by  Mr.  Davis  from  major  of  Second  Dragoons  to  colo 
nel  of  First  Cavalry,  and  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  a  captain 
in  the  Topographical  Engineers,  was  made  its  lieuten 
ant  colonel.  The  colonelcy  of  the  Second  Cavalry  was 
tendered  to  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  then  a  major  in  the 
Paymaster's  Department  of  the  army.  This  officer,  who 
afterward  became  so  distinguished,  graduated  at  West 
Point  in  1826,  and  was  assigned  as  a  lieutenant  to  the 
Second  Infantry.  His  subsequent  career  in  Texas  and 
in  the  Mexican  campaign  is  well  known  to  the  whole 
country.  Zachary  Taylor  said  of  him  that  "  he  was  the 
best  soldier  he  had  ever  commanded,"  while  Scott  re 
marked  that  bis  appointment  as  colonel  of  the  Second 
Cavalry  "was  a  Godsend  to  the  army  and  country." 

Captain  and  Brevet-Colonel  R.  E.  Lee,  of  the  engi 
neers,  was  promoted  to  be  lieutenant  colonel  of  this 
regiment,  and  William  J.  Hardee  and  William  H.  Emory 
to  be  its  majors.  The  latter  was  soon  transferred  to  the 
First  Cavalry,  and  the  vacancy  offered  to  Braxton  Bragg, 
of  the  artillery,  who  declined  it  because  he  did  not  want 
to  remain  in  the  service,  and  recommended  George  H. 
Thomas,  of  the  Third  Artillery,  who  was  appointed. 
Van  Dorn,  Kirby  Smith,  James  Oakes,  Innis  Palmer, 
Stoneman,  O'Hara,  Bradfute,  Travis,  Brackett,  and 
Whiting  were  its  captains,  and  Nathan  G.  Evans,  Rich 
ard  W.  Johnson,  Charles  Field,  and  John  B.  Hood  were 
among  its  first  lieutenants. 

Secretary  of  War  Davis  graduated  at  West  Point 
in  1828,  two  years  after  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  and  one 
year  before  Robert  E.  Lee.  He  possessed  an  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  individual  merits  of  army  officers, 
and  time  and  history  have  indorsed  his  selection  of  offi 
cers  for  these  new  regiments ;  for  on  their  respective 
sides  in  the  late  war  nearly  every  one  became  cele 
brated.  Mr.  Davis  said  to  the  writer  that  when  he  car- 


AN   OFFICER   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES   ARMY. 


55 


ried  the  list  to  the  President,  the  latter  remarked  that 
he  thought  too  many  of  the  officers  were  from  the 
Southern  States,  and  that  for  the  first  time  his  attention 
was  directed  to  the  section  from  which  many  of  these 
officers  came.  In  their  appointment  he  had  only  con 
sidered  that  past  services  richly  entitled  them  to  promo 
tion.  At  the  date  of  the  organization  of  the  two  new 
cavalry  regiments  seventy  officers  were  appointed  by 
Secretary  Davis,  but  only  twenty-nine  of  them  came 
from  States  which  seceded  from  the  Union  in  1861.  It 
is,  however,  a  "historical  fact  that  the  officers  thus  se 
lected  were  superb  soldiers,  and  that  they  were  from  the 
best  to  be  found  in  the  army  and  in  civil  life." 

Brevet-Colonel  Lee  left  the  Engineer  Corps  with 
great  regret ;  he  had  thoroughly  mastered  its  scientific 
details,  and,  with  a  national  reputation,  stood  in  the 
front  rank  of  military  engineers.  At  West  Point  he  had 
been  instructed  in  cavalry,  artillery,  and  infantry  tactics, 
and,  like  all  cadets  at  the  date  of  graduation,  was  sup 
posed  to  be  equally  well  informed  as  to  the  drill  and 
duties  of  each  arm  of  service  ;  but  twenty-six  years  had 
rolled  around  since  graduation,  during  which  his  atten 
tion  had  been  entirely  absorbed  in  the  profession  of 
engineer,  and  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  again  study 
cavalry  tactics.  Promotion  was  slow  in  the  United 
States  Army,  and  in  a  long  official  life  he  had  only 
reached  the  lineal  rank  of  captain.  By  sudden  transi 
tion,  in  a  single  bound  he  had  been  promoted  to  a 
lieutenant  colonelcy,  a  position  he  possibly  would  not 
have  reached  in  the  ordinary  course  of  promotion  for 
many  years ;  his  duty  to  all  concerned  demanded  that 
he  should  accept  the  position.  It  was  an  unwritten  law 
in  the  army  that  if  promotion  was  offered  and  declined, 
the  reputation  of  the  officer  suffered  ;  it  was  regarded 
as  a  confession  on  his  part  that  he  had  not  capacity  to 
perform  the  duties  of  a  higher  grade. 

Next  to  the  engineer,  the  cavalry  service  was  the 
most  agreeable  to  Lee.  He  was  fond  of  horses,  and 
liked  to  see  them  cleaned,  fed,  and  well  taken  care  of; 
he  had  a  firm  seat  in  the  saddle,  and  rode  gracefully  and 
well.  He  might  never  become,  in  the  language  of  the 
cavalry  song, 
5 


56  GENERAL   LEE. 

A  bold  dragoon,  who  scorns  all  care 

As  he  stalks  around  with  his  uncropped  hair. 

And  indeed  it  is  difficult  to  picture  him  in  short  jacket, 
long  boots  coming  above  his  knees,  jingling  spurs,  clank 
ing  saber,  and  slouched  hat,  upon  whose  looped-up  side 
gay  feathers  danced.  Or  can  we  imagine  him  with 
the  devil-may-care  look  and  jaunty  bearing  generally 
ascribed  as  attributes  of  the  "  rough  rider  "  ?  We  can 
not  fancy  him  charging  the  French  columns  with  the 
fury  of  a  Ponsonby  at  Waterloo  ;  or  riding  boot  to  boot 
with  dashing  Cardigan  and  his  "  death  or  glory  "  squad 
rons  "  into  the  jaws  of  death,  into  the  mouth  of  hell "  at 
Balaklava ;  or  side  by  side  with  fearless  Murat  and  his 
twelve  thousand  cavalry  at  Jena;  or  as  fast  and  furious 
as  Stuart,  or  Sheridan,  Forrest,  or  Custer.  And  yet  it  is 
safe  to  say,  had  the  opportunity  offered,  this  new  cav 
alry  officer  would  have  been  found  equal  to  the  emer 
gency.  The  cavalry  genius  of  Cromwell  is  readily  ad 
mitted,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  was  forty-four  years 
of  age  when  he  first  drew  his  sword,  and  Lee  was  now 
forty-six.  General  Foy,  in  his  history  of  the  Peninsular 
War,  writes :  "  Aprh  les  qualitds  necessaire  \s\  ?  au  com 
mandant  en  chef,  le  talent  de  guerre  plus  sublime  est  celui 
du  general  de  cavalrie"  Lee  was  endowed  with  youth, 
health,  strength,  and  "talent  for  war";  he  had  been 
shaken  well  into  the  saddle  by  his  Mexican  campaign, 
and  was  buoyant  and  brave.  A  fearless  and  graceful 
rider,  he  could  have  manoeuvred  squadrons,  and  when 
the  bugle  sounded  the  charge,  reins  loosened,  and  sabers 
flashed  in  the  air,  lead  them  to  victory. 

The  headquarters  of  the  Second  Cavalry  were  estab 
lished  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  where  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lee 
assumed  command  on  the  2oth  of  April,  1855.  After 
ward  he  was  transferred  to  Jefferson  Barracks,  Missouri, 
where  the  companies  were  to  be  organized  and  instruct 
ed,  and  which  was  then  the  temporary  regimental  head 
quarters.  He  writes  Mrs.  Lee  from  that  post,  July  i, 
1855  :  "The  chaplain  of  the  post,  a  Mr.  Fish,  is  now 
absent;  he  is  an  Episcopal  clergyman  and  well  spoken 
of;  we  have  therefore  not  had  service  since  I  have 
been  here.  The  church  stands  out  in  the  trees,  gro 
tesque  in  its  form  and  ancient  in  its  appearance.  I 


AN   OFFICER   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES  ARMY. 


57 


have  not  been  in  it,  but  am  content  to  read  the  Bible 
and  prayers  alone,  and  draw  much  comfort  from  their 
holy  precepts  and  merciful  promises.  Though  feeling 
unable  to  follow  the  one,  and  truly  unworthy  of  the 
other,  I  must  still  pray  to  that  glorious  God  without 
whom  there  is  no  help,  and  with  whom  there  is  no  dan 
ger.  That  he  may  guard  and  protect  you  all,  and 
more  than  supply  to  you  my  absence,  is  my  daily  and 
constant  prayer.  I  have  been  busy  all  the  week  super 
intending  and  drilling  recruits.  Not  a  stitch  of  cloth 
ing  has  as  yet  arrived  for  them,  though  I  made  the 
necessary  requisition  for  it  to  be  sent  here  more  than 
two  months  ago  in  Louisville.  Yesterday,  at  muster, 
I  found  one  of  the  late  arrivals  in  a  dirty,  tattered  shirt 
and  pants,  with  a  white  hat  and  shoes,  with  other  gar 
ments  to  match.  I  asked  him  why  he  did  not  .put  on 
clean  clothes.  He  said  he  had  none.  I  asked  him  if 
he  could  not  wash  and  mend  those.  He  said  he  had 
nothing  else  to  put  on.  I  then  told  him  immediately 
after  muster  to  go  down  to  the  river,  wash  his  clothes, 
and  sit  on  the  bank  and  watch  the  passing  steamboats 
till  they  dried,  and  then  mend  them.  This  morning  at 
inspection  he  looked  as  proud  as  possible,  stood  in  the 
position  of  a  soldier  with  his  little  fingers  on  the  seams 
of  his  pants,  his  beaver  cocked  back,  and  his  toes  stick 
ing  through  his  shoes,  but  his  skin  and  solitary  two  gar 
ments  clean.  He  grinned  very  happily  at  my  compli 
ments.  I  have  got  a  fine  puss,  which  was  left  me  by 
Colonel  Sumner.  He  was  educated  by  his  daughter, 
Mrs.  Jenkins,  but  is  too  fond  of  getting  up  on  my  lap 
and  on  my  bed;  he  follows  me  all  about  the  house  and 
stands  at  the  door  in  an  attitude  of  defiance  at  all  pass 
ing  dogs." 

In  the  November  following  he  was  in  Kansas,  having 
been  temporarily  detached  from  his  regiment  and  detailed 
to  serve  as  a  member  of  a  court-martial  ordered  to  con 
vene  to  try  an  assistant  surgeon  of  the  army  for  leaving 
his  station  in  the  midst  of  a  fatal  epidemic,  and  wrote 
Mrs.  Lee,  from  Fort  Riley,  November  5,  1855:  "The 
court  progresses  slowly.  A  good  deal  was  told  in  the 
evidence  of  Saturday;  Mrs.  Woods,  wife  of  Brevet-Major 
Woods,  Sixth  Infantry,  whose  husband  had  left  on  the 


58  GENERAL   LEE. 

Sioux  expedition,  was  taken  ill  at  9  p.  M.  on  the  2d  of 
August.  Her  youngest  child,  a  boy  of  three  years,  was 
taken  that  night  at  twelve,  and  about  six  next  morning 
her  eldest,  a  girl  of  five  years.  The  mother,  when  told 
that  her  end  was  approaching,  asked  her  only  attend 
ant,  a  niece  of  the  chaplain,  to  take  down  the  last  re 
quest  to  her  children  and  absent  husband.  The  sick 
ness  of  her  children  had  kindly  been  concealed  from  her 
by  this  young  lady,  who  managed,  by  the  aid  of  a  sol 
dier,  to  attend  to  them  all.  They  all  died  that  morning, 
the  3d  of  August.  The  boy  preceded,  and  the  girl  fol 
lowed  the  mother  by  about  an  hour.  Their  bodies  rest 
in  the  same  grave.  I  pray  their  spirits  may  be  united  in 
heaven.  The  husband,  stripped  of  all  he  loved,  is  still 
absent ;  and  the  same  day  Major  Ogden,  Mrs.  Woods's 
nurse,  a  soldier  and  his  wife,  died — making  seven  corpses 
in  the  house  in  one  day.  Major  Ogden  was  a  valuable 
soldier  and  much  beloved  by  his  men.  They  have 
erected  to  his  memory,  on  an  adjacent  hill  overlooking 
the  fort  and  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Kansas  and  its 
branches,  a  stone  monument,  their  own  design  and 
workmanship.  The  epitaph  on  it  relates  in  touching 
simplicity  his  services  and  death.  He  died  as  he  had 
lived — a  soldier  and  a  Christian,  and  repeated  the  Lord's 
Prayer  with  his  last  breath.  There  were  fifty-nine 
deaths  during  the  epidemic.  Mrs.  Armistead,  wife  of 
Major  Armistead  (General  Lewis  Armistead,  killed  at 
Gettysburg),  died  in  six  hours  after  she  was  taken. 
Her  husband  had  marched  with  his  company,  but  only 
proceeded  thirty  miles  when  overtaken  by  an  express. 
He  returned  in  the  night,  found  his  wife  dead,  and  after 
her  funeral  in  the  morning — this  same  fatal  3d  of  Au 
gust — started  for  his  camp,  carrying  his  two  little  chil 
dren  with  him.  A  soldier  has  a  hard  life  and  but  little 
consideration." 

The  Second  Cavalry^  under  the  command  of  Colonel 
Johnston,  on  the  2yth  of  October  following  began  its 
long  march  from  Jefferson  Barracks  to  western  Texas. 
It  numbered  seven  hundred  and  fifty  men  and  eight  hun 
dred  horses.  It  marched  under  the  command  of  its  colo 
nel,  Major  Hardee  being  the  only  other  field  officer  who 
accompanied  it,  Lee  and  Thomas  being  on  court-martial 


AN   OFFICER  OF   THE    UNITED   STATES  ARMY. 


59 


detail.  The  regiment  was  destined  for  the  next  few 
years  to  be  stationed  at  the  various  posts  of  western 
Texas,  and  its  duty  was  to  protect  the  scalp  of  the  set 
tler  from  the  tomahawk  of  the  savage.  Texas  has  an 
area  of  two  hundred  and  seventy-four  thousand  square 
miles,  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  million  acres  of  land,  and 
is  two  and  a  half  times  the  area  of  Great  Britain  and  Ire 
land.  In  order  to  watch  over  such  a  stretch  of  frontier 
it  was  necessary  to  divide  the  regiment  up  so  that  only 
a  few  companies  occupied  the  same  post. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Lee  arrived  in  Texas  in  March, 
1856  :  To  Mrs.  Lee  he  writes  from  San  Antonio  on  March 
20,  1856:  "To-morrow  I  leave  for  Fort  Mason,  where 
Colonel  Johnston  and  six  companies  of  the  regiment  are 
stationed.  Major  Hardee  and  four  companies  are  in 
camp  on  the  Clear  Fork  of  the  Brazos,  about  forty  miles 
from  Belknap.  I  presume  I  shall  go  there.  I  have  left  it 
with  Mr.  Radiminski  (a  native  of  Poland  and  a  lieutenant 
in  the  Second  Cavalry)  to  make  provision  for  the  jour 
ney,  and  have  merely  indicated  that  I  should  be  content 
with  a  boiled  ham,  hard  bread,  a  bottle  of  molasses,  and 
one  of  extract  of  coffee — all  of  which  have  been  pro 
vided."  Lee  was  afterward  stationed  at  Camp  Cooper, 
on  the  Clear  Fork  of  the  Brazos,  so  named  in  honor  of 
Samuel  Cooper,  then  adjutant  general  of  the  army  ;  and 
from  that  point  in  June,  1856,  he  was  dispatched  with 
four  companies  of  his  regiment  on  an  expedition  against 
the  Comanches,  but  was  unsuccessful  in  finding  them. 
It  is  mentioned  because  it  was  his  first  service  of  this 
nature,  and  the  largest  command  he  had  ever  exercised 
in  the  field  up  to  that  period.  The  Indians  of  western 
Texas  in  those  days  roved  over  the  prairies  in  small 
bodies,  and  would  descend  suddenly  upon  the  frontier 
settlements,  scalping  and  killing  the  settlers  and  driving 
off  their  horses  and  cattle.  They  were  fine  specimens  of 
irregular  cavalry,  were  splendid  riders,  and  when  com 
pelled  to  fight,  used  the  open  or  individual  method  of 
warfare,  after  the  manner  of  the  Cossacks. 

From  Camp  Cooper,  Texas,  August  4,  1856,  remem 
bering  that  Mr.  Custis  always  celebrated  his  country's 
birth  by  a  patriotic  speech  of  welcome  to  the  many  who 
visited  him  on  such  occasions,  he  says  to  Mrs.  Lee:  "I 


60  GENERAL   LEE. 

hope  your  father  continued  well  and  enjoyed  his  usual 
celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  July ;  mine  was  spent, 
after  a  march  of  thirty  miles  on  one  of  the  branches  of 
the  Brazos,  under  my  blanket,  elevated  on  four  sticks 
driven  in  the  ground,  as  a  sunshade.  The  sun  was  fiery 
hot,  the  atmosphere  like  the  blast  from  a  hot-air  fur 
nace,  the  water  salt,  still  my  feelings  for  my  country 
were  as  ardent,  my  faith  in  her  future  as  true,  and  my 
hopes  for  her  advancement  as  unabated  as  they  would 
have  been  under  better  circumstances." 

A  week  later,  having  received  intelligence  of  the 
death  of  his  youngest  sister,  Mildred,  who,  having  mar 
ried  a  Mr.  Childe,  had  removed  to  and  was  a  resident  of 
Paris,  France,  he  writes:  "  The  news  came  to  me  very 
unexpectedly,  and  in  the  course  of  nature  I  might  never 
have  anticipated  it,  as  indeed  I  had  never  realized  that 
she  could  have  preceded  me  on  the  unexplored  journey 
upon  which  we  are  all  hastening.  Though  parted  from 
her  for  years,  with  little  expectation  but  of  a  transient 
reunion  in  this  life,  this  terrible  and  sudden  separation 
has  not  been  the  less  distressing  because  it  was  distant 
and  unlocked  for.  It  has  put  an  end  to  all  hope  of  our 
meeting  in  this  world.  It  has  cut  short  my  early  wishes 
and  daily  yearnings,  and  so  vividly  does  she  live  in  my 
imagination  and  affection  that  I  can  not  realize  she  only 
exists  in  my  memory.  I  pray  that  her  life  has  but  just 
begun,  and  I  trust  that  our  merciful  God  only  so  suddenly 
and  early  snatched  her  away  because  he  then  saw  that  it 
was  the  fittest  moment  to  take  her  to  himself.  May  a 
pure  and  eternal  life  now  be  hers,  and  may  we  all  live 
so  that  when  we  die  it  may  be  open  to  us."  On  the  25th 
of  the  same  month  he  tells  Mrs.  Lee  :  "  I  shall  leave 
here  on  the  ist  proximo  for  the  Rio  Grande,  and  shall 
be  absent  from  two  and  a  half  to  three  months;  will 
go  from  here  to  Fort  Mason  and  pick  up  Major  Thom 
as*  and  take  him  on  with  me,  and  thus  have  him  as 
a  traveling  companion  all  the  way,  which  will  be  a 
great  comfort  to  me."  And  then  mentioning  the  Co- 
manche  raids  on  the  settlers  of  Texas,  he  says:  "These 
people  give  a  world  of  trouble  to  man  and  horse,  and, 
poor  creatures,  they  are  not  worth  it." 

*  General  George  H.  Thomas. 


AN   OFFICER   OF  THE   UNITED   STATES  ARMY.    6 1 

Whenever  a  vacancy  occurred  in  the  army  in  a  grade 
above  lieutenant  colonel,  his  chances  for  promotion  were 
always  discussed.  His  reply  to  a  letter  from  his  wife, 
informing  him  that  his  name  was  frequently  mentioned 
for  a  brigadier  generalcy,  was  written  the  day  he  set  out 
for  Ringgold  Barracks  to  serve  as  a  member  of  the  court- 
martial  ordered  to  try  Major  Giles  Porter,  of  the  rifles, 
and  is  very  characteristic  : 

CAMP  COOPER,  TEXAS,  September  i,  1856. 

We  are  all  in  the  hands  of  a  kind  God,  who  will  do  for  us 
what  is  best,  and  more  than  we  deserve,  and  we  have  only  to  en 
deavor  to  deserve  more,  and  to  do  our  duty  to  him  and  ourselves. 
May  we  all  deserve  his  mercy,  his  care,  and  protection.  Do  not 
give  yourself  any  anxiety  about  the  appointment  of  the  brigadier. 
If  it  is  on  my  account  that  you  feel  an  interest  in  it,  I  beg  you  will 
discard  it  from  your  thoughts.  You  will  be  sure  to  be  disappointed ; 
nor  is  it  right  to  indulge  improper  and  useless  hopes.  It  besides 
looks  like  presumption  to  expect  it. 

The  journey  to  the  Rio  Grande  is  best  told  in  his  own 
words  : 

RINGGOLD  BARRACKS,  TEXAS,  October  3,  1856. 

I  arrived  here  on  the  28th,  after  twenty-seven  consecutive  days 
of  travel.  The  distance  was  greater  than  I  had  anticipated,  being 
seven  hundred  and  thirty  miles.  I  was  detained  one  day  on  the 
road  by  high  water — had  to  swim  my  mules  and  get  the  wagon 
over  by  hand.  My  mare  took  me  very  comfortably,  but  all  my 
wardrobe,  from  my  socks  up  to  my  plume,  was  immersed  in  the 
muddy  water — epaulets,  sash,  etc.  They  are,  however,  all  dry 
now.  Major  Thomas  traveled  with  me  from  Fort  Mason.  We 
are  in  camp  together.  Captain  Bradford,  whom  we  knew  at  Old 
Point,  is  on  the  court.  Colonel  Chapman,  of  the  infantry,  from 
Georgetown,  Captain  Marsey,  Colonels  Bainbridge,  Bumford, 
Ruggles,  and  Seawell,  and  Captain  Sibley,  an  old  classmate  of 
mine.  Colonel  \Vaite  is  president  of  the  court  and  Captain  Sam 
uel  Jones,  of  the  artillery,  judge  advocate.  The  latter  brought 
his  wife  and  child  with  him  in  a  six-mule  road  wagon  from  Sinda, 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  up  the  river.  All  the  court 
are  present  and  yesterday  we  commenced  the  trial  of  our  old 
friend,  Giles  Porter.  I  hope  he  will  clear  himself  of  the  charges 
against  him.  I  am  writing  with  much  inconvenience  from  a  stiff 
finger,  caused  by  a  puncture  from  a  Spanish  bayonet,  while  pitch 
ing  my  tent  on  the  road,  which  struck  the  joint.  Every  branch 
and  leaf  in  this  country  nearly  are  armed  with  a  point,  and  some 
seem  to  poison  the  flesh.  What  a  blessed  thing  the  children  are 
not  here  !  They  would  be  ruined. 


62  GENERAL   LEE. 

The  discomforts  of  army  travel  and  army  life  were 
very  great  in  those  days.  Officers  would  scarcely  get 
within  their  assigned  quarters  at  one  post  before  they 
would  be  ordered  to  another,  and  as  transportation  was 
limited  to  a  few  Government  wagons,  the  transfer  would 
always  result  in  loss  to  the  officers.  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Lee  gives  as  a  glimpse  of  this  in  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Lee, 
dated  : 

RINGGOLD  BARRACKS,  TEXAS,  October  24,  1856. 
Major  Porter  had  for  his  counsel  two  Texan  lawyers,  a  Judge 
Bigelow  and  a  Colonel  Bowers,  very  shrewd  men,  accustomed  to 
the  tricks  and  stratagems  of  special  pleadings,  which,  of  no  other 
avail,  absorb  time  and  stave  off  the  question.  The  movement  of 
troops  to  Florida  will  not  take  place,  I  presume,  until  the  beginning 
of  November.  They  are  packing  up  and  getting  ready.  The  offi 
cers  are  selling  their  surplus  beds  and  chairs,  cows,  goats,  and 
chickens.  I  am  sorry  to  see  their  little  comforts  going,  for  it  is 
difficult  on  the  frontier  to  collect  them  again.  Mrs.  Sibley  told 
me  her  chairs  and  cow  had  gone,  and  Mrs.  Waite  her  goats.  The 
pigeons  and  chickens  are  disposed  of  on  the  table.  General 
Vidaun,  in  his  attack  on  Camargo,  seems  to  progress  pari  passu 
with  the  court.  I  am  more  interested  in  the  state  of  health  of  my 
man  Johnson,  who  has  fever.  I  hope  it  will  prove  a  slight  case 
for  his  sake  and  my  own,  for,  though  he  is  a  poor  cook,  he  is  all 
I  have,  and  neither  the  major  [George  H.  Thomas]  nor  I  can 
stand  these  long  and  interesting  sessions  of  the  court  without 
eating.  I  have  read  in  a  stray  number  of  the  New  York  Times, 
that  reached  here  somehow,  a  violent  attack  upon  Secretary 
Davis  [Jefferson  Davis,  then  Secretary  of  War]  for  the  removal 
of  Professor  Sprole  [West  Point].  It  makes  out  a  severe  charge 
against  the  Secretary,  the  merits  of  which,  though  I  am  sorry 
for  the  professor,  I  am  too  dull  to  see.  The  Secretary  and  Presi 
dent  have  surely  the  right  to  appoint  whom  they  think  best  to 
fill  the  station.  I  sincerely  hope  he  will  not  suffer  on  account  of 
his  losing  his  place.  He  has  some  strong  friends  in  the  city  of 
New  York.  At  any  rate  you  had  better  write  to  Miss  Becky  [his 
daughter]  to  stay  with  you  till  her  father  is  located.  In  the  same 
paper  there  are  ill-natured  strictures  upon  our  regiment.  The 
writer  is  opposed  to  the  new  regiments,  particularly  the  First  and 
Second  Cavalry  and  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Infantry,  and  calls  for 
their  early  disband ment.  They  may  suit  themselves  in  everything 
relating  to  my  services,  and  whenever  they  tell  me  they  are  no 
longer  required  they  will  not  be  obtruded  on  them. 

Two  months  later  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lee  was  at 
Fort  Brown,  Texas,  with  thoughts  filled  with  the  ap- 


AN   OFFICER  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES  ARMY.    63 

preaching  Christmas  and  his  family's  happiness.  He 
writes  in  December,  1856:  "The  time  is  approaching 
when  I  trust  many  of  you  will  be  assembled  around 
the  family  hearth  at  dear  Arlington  another  Christ 
mas.  Though  absent,  my  heart  will  be  in  the  midst 
of  you,  and  I  shall  enjoy  in  imagination  and  memory 
all  that  is  going  on.  May  nothing  occur  to  mar  or 
cloud  the  family  fireside,  and  may  each  be  able  to  look 
back  with  pride  and  pleasure  at  their  deeds  of  the  past 
year,  and  with  confidence  and  hope  to  that  in  prospect. 
I  can  do  nothing  but  hope  and  pray  for  you  all.  Last 
Saturday  I  visited  Matamoras,  Mexico,  for  the  first  time. 
The  town  looked  neat,  though  much  out  at  the  elbow, 
and  nothing  apparently  going  on  of  interest.  The  plaza 
or  square  was  inclosed  and  the  trees  and  grass  flourish 
ing,  for  which  I  am  told  the  city  is  indebted  to  Major 
William  Chapman,  of  the  Quartermaster's  Department, 
who  made  the  improvement  while  it  was  in  the  occupa 
tion  of  the  American  army.  The  most  attractive  thing 
to  me  in  town  were  the  orange  trees  loaded  with  unripe 
fruit.  The  oleander  was  in  full  bloom,  and  there  were 
some  large  date,  fig,  and  palm  trees." 

Two  days  after  the  great  festival  the  following  letter 
to  Mrs.  Lee,  giving  in  graphic  words  his  views  on  slav 
ery,  a  sly  slap  at  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  and  his  personal 
Christmas  doings,  was  written : 

FORT  BROWN,  TEXAS,  December  27,  1856. 

The  steamer  has  arrived  from  New  Orleans,  bringing  full  files 
of  papers  and  general  intelligence  from  the  "  States."  I  have  en 
joyed  the  former  very  much,  and,  in  the  absence  of  particular  intel 
ligence,  have  perused  with  much  interest  the  series  of  the  Alexan 
dria  Gazette  from  the  2oth  of  November  to  the  8th  of  December 
inclusive.  Besides  the  usual  good  reading  matter,  I  was  interested 
in  the  relation  of  local  affairs,  and  inferred,  from  the  quiet  and 
ordinary  course  of  events,  that  all  in  the  neighborhood  was  going 
on  well.  I  trust  it  may  be  so,  and  that  you  and  particularly  all 
at  Arlington  and  our  friends  elsewhere  are  well.  The  steamer 
brought  the  President's  message  to  Congress,  and  the  reports  of 
the  various  heads  of  the  departments,  so  that  we  are  now  assured 
that  the  Government  is  in  operation  and  the  Union  in  existence. 
Not  that  I  had  any  fears  to  the  contrary,  but  it  is  satisfactory  al 
ways  to  have  facts  to  go  on  ;  they  restrain  supposition  and  con 
jecture,  confirm  faith,  and  bring  contentment.  I  was  much  pleased 


64  GENERAL   LEE. 

with  the  President's  message  and  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of 
War.  The  views  of  the  President  on  the  domestic  institutions  of 
the  South  are  truthfully  and  faithfully  expressed.  In  this  en 
lightened  age  there  are  few,  I  believe,  but  will  acknowledge  that 
slavery  as  an  institution  is  a  moral  and  political  evil  in  any  coun 
try.  It  is  useless  to  expatiate  on  its  disadvantages.  I  think  it, 
however,  a  greater  evil  to  the  white  than  to  the  black  race,  and 
while  my  feelings  are  strongly  interested  in  behalf  of  the  latter, 
my  sympathies  are  stronger  for  the  former.  The  blacks  are  im 
measurably  better  off  here  than  in  Africa,  morally,  socially,  and 
physically.  The  painful  discipline  they  are  undergoing  is  neces 
sary  for  their  instruction  as  a  race,  and,  I  hope,  will  prepare  and 
lead  them  to  better  things.  How  long  their  subjection  may  be 
necessary  is  known  and  ordered  by  a  wise  and  merciful  Prov 
idence.  Their  emancipation  will  sooner  result  from  a  mild  and 
melting  influence  than  the  storms  and  contests  of  fiery  contro 
versy.  This  influence,  though  slow,  is  sure.  The  doctrines  and 
miracles  of  our  Saviour  have  required  nearly  two  thousand  years 
to  convert  but  a  small  part  of  the  human  race,  and  even  among 
Christian  nations  what  gross  errors  still  exist  !  While  we  see  the 
course  of  the  final  abolition  of  slavery  is  onward,  and  we  give  it 
the  aid  of  our  prayers  and  all  justifiable  means  in  our  power,  we 
must  leave  the  progress  as  well  as  the  result  in  his  hands,  who 
sees  the  end  and  who  chooses  to  work  by  slow  things,  and  with 
whom  a  thousand  years  are  but  as  a  single  clay  ;  although  the 
abolitionist  must  know  this,  and  must  see  that  he  has  neither  the 
right  nor  the  power  of  operating  except  by  moral  means  and  sua 
sion  ;  and  if  he  means  well  to  the  slave,  he  must  not  create  angry 
feelings  in  the  master.  That  although  he  may  not  approve  the 
mode  by  which  it  pleases  Providence  to  accomplish  its  purposes, 
the  result  will  never  be  the  same  ;  that  the  reasons  he  gives  for 
interference  in  what  he  has  no  concern  holds  good  for  every  kind 
of  interference  with  our  neighbors  when  we  disapprove  their  con 
duct.  Is  it  not  strange  that  the  descendants  of  those  Pilgrim 
Fathers  who  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  preserve  the  freedom  of  their 
opinion  have  always  proved  themselves  intolerant  of  the  spiritual 
liberty  of  others  ?  I  hope  you  had  a  joyous  Christmas  at  Arling 
ton,  and  that  it  may  be  long  and  often  repeated.  I  thought  of 
you  all  and  wished  to  be  with  you.  Mine  was  gratefully  but 
silently  passed.  I  endeavored  to  find  some  little  presents  for  the 
children  in  the  garrison  to  add  to  their  amusement,  and  succeeded 
better  than  I  had  anticipated.  The  stores  are  very  barren  of  such 
things  here,  but  by  taking  the  week  beforehand  in  my  daily  walks 
I  picked  up  little  by  little  something  for  all.  Tell  Mildred  I  got 
a  beautiful  Dutch  doll  for  little  Emma  Jones — one  of  those  cry 
ing  babies  that  can  open  and  shut  their  eyes,  turn  their  head,  etc. 
For  the  two  other  little  girls,  Puss  Shirley  and  Mary  Sewell,  1 
found  handsome  French  teapots  to  match  cups  given  to  them  by 


AN   OFFICER  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES  ARMY.    65 

Mrs.  Waite  ;  then  by  means  of  knives  and  books  I  satisfied  the 
boys.  After  dispensing  my  presents  I  went  to  church  ;  the  dis 
course  was  on  the  birth  of  our  Saviour.  It  was  not  as  simply  or 
touchingly  told  as  it  is  in  the  Bible.  By  previous  invitation  I 
dined  with  Major  Thomas  at  2  P.  M.  on  roast  turkey  and  plum 
pudding.  He  and  his  wife  were  alone.  I  had  provided  a  pretty 
singing  bird  for  the  little  girl,  and  passed  the  afternoon  in  my 
room.  God  bless  you  all. 

From  the  same  place — Fort  Brown,  Texas,  January  7, 
1857 — writing  to  Mrs.  Lee,  whom  he  hears  has  been  sick, 
he  says :  "  Systematically  pursue  the  best  course  to  re 
cover  your  lost  health.  I  pray  and  trust  your  efforts 
and  the  prayers  of  those  who  love  you  may  be  favorably 
answered.  Do  not  worry  yourself  about  things  you  can 
not  help,  but  be  content  to  do  what  you  can  for  the 
well-being  of  what  belongs  properly  to  you.  Commit 
the  rest  to  those  who  are  responsible,  and  though  it  is 
the  part  of  benevolence  to  aid  all  we  can  and  sympathize 
with  all  who  are  in  need,  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  at 
tend  to  our  own  affairs.  Lay  nothing  too  much  to  heart. 
Desire  nothing  too  eagerly,  nor  think  that  all  things 
can  be  perfectly  accomplished  according  to  our  own 
notions." 

Mr.  Custis,  of  Arlington,  was  very  fond  of  cats,  and 
his  large  yellow  "  Tom "  was  his  constant  attendant. 
Some  of  his  household  naturally  grew  fond  of  these 
animals,  his  son-in-law  being  among  them.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Lee  would  not  cut  the  skirt  of  his  robe,  as  did 
Mohammed,  to  prevent  disturbing  his  cat,  which  was 
sleeping  on  it,  nor,  like  Cardinal  Wolsey,  give  audience 
with  a  cat  seated  beside  him,  nor  let  his  cat  rest  among 
his  papers  and  books,  as  did  Richelieu,  nor  wish  a  statue 
with  his  right  hand  resting  on  his  cat,  as  did  Whitting- 
ton,  the  famous  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  but  he  liked  to 
see  a  well-fed  puss,  such  as  Gray  described  in  his  ode 
"  On  the  Death  of  a  Favorite  Cat  " : 

Her  conscious  tail  her  joy  disclosed, 
The  fair  round  face,  the  snowy  beard, 

The  relish  of  her  paws  ; 
Her  coat  that  with  the  tortoise  vies, 
Her  ears  of  jet  and  emerald  eyes, 

She  saw  and  purr'd  applause. 


66  GENERAL   LEE. 

From  Fort  Brown,  Texas,  February  16,  1857,  he  tells 
Mrs.  Lee  :  "  Tell  your  father  Mrs.  Colonel  Waite  has  a 
fine  large  cat  which  she  takes  with  her  everywhere.  He 
is  her  companion  by  day,  and  sleeps  on  her  bed  at  night. 
In  public  conveyances  she  leads  him  in  the  leash,  and 
carries  along  a  bottle  of  milk  for  his  use.  In  her  own 
carriage  he  sits  on  her  lap.  I  have  been  trying  to  per 
suade  her  to  let  me  take  him  up  to  Camp  Cooper,  but 
she  says  she  can't  part  from  him.  He  must  go  to  Flori 
da.  I  have  seen  some  fine  cats  in  Brownsville  in  the 
stores  kept  by  Frenchmen,  but  no  yellow  ones;  the  dark 
brindle  is  the  favorite  color  on  the  frontier.  In  my 
walk  the  other  evening  I  met  a  Mexican  with  a  wild 
kitten  in  his  arms  enveloped  in  his  blanket ;  it  was  a 
noble  specimen  of  the  Rio  Grande  wildcat,  spotted  all 
over  with  large  spots  like  the  leopard.  I  tried  very 
hard  to  buy  him,  but  he  said  he  was  already  sold.  I 
should  prefer  one  of  those  at  Camp  Cooper.  I  fear, 
though,  I  should  have  to  keep  him  chained,  for  they  are 
very  wild  and  savage." 

And  again  from  Indianola,  Texas,  March  27,  1857, 
he  writes  to  his  youngest  daughter:  "  It  has  been  said 
that  our  letters  are  good  representatives  of  our  minds. 
They  certainly  present  a  good  criterion  for  judging  of 
the  character  of  the  individual.  You  must  be  careful 
that  yours  make  as  favorable  an  impression  of  you  as  I 
hope  you  will  deserve.  I  am  truly  sorry  for  the  destruc 
tion  of  the  Long  Bridge.  [Spans  the  Potomac  between 
Arlington  and  Washington.]  It  will  be  an  injury  to  the 
business  of  many  and  an  inconvenience  to  you  in  taking 
your  music  lessons.  You  must  be  a  great  personage 
now — sixty  pounds !  I  wish  I  had  you  here  in  all  your 
ponderosity.  I  want  to  see  you  so  much.  Can  you  not 
pack  up  and  come  to  the  Comanche  country  ?  I  would 
get  you  such  a  fine  cat  you  would  never  look  at  '  Tom ' 
again.  Did  I  tell  you  Jim  Nooks,  Mrs.  Waite's  cat,  was 
dead  ?  He  died  of  apoplexy.  I  foretold  his  end.  Cof 
fee  and  cream  for  breakfast,  pound  cake  for  lunch,  tur 
tle  and  oysters  for  dinner,  buttered  toast  for  tea,  and 
Mexican  rats,  taken  raw,  for  supper.  He  grew  enor 
mously  and  ended  in  a  spasm.  His  beauty  could  not 
save  him.  I  saw  in  San  Antonio  a  cat  dressed  up  for 


AN   OFFICER  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES  ARMY.    6/ 

company :  He  had  two  holes  bored  in  each  ear,  and  in 
each  were  two  bows  of  pink  and  blue  ribbon.  His  round 
face,  set  in  pink  and  blue,  looked  like  a  big  owl  in  a  full 
blooming  ivy  bush.  He  was  snow  white,  and  wore  the 
golden  fetters  of  his  inamorata  around  his  neck  in  the 
form  of  a  collar.  His  tail  and  feet  were  tipped  with 
black,  and  his  eyes  of  green  were  truly  catlike.  But  I 
'  saw  cats  as  is  cats '  in  Sarassa,  while  the  stage  was 
changing  mules.  I  stepped  around  to  see  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Monod,  a  French  couple  with  whom  I  had  passed  the 
night  when  I  landed  in  Texas,  in  1846,  to  join  General 
Wool's  army.  Mr.  Monod  received  me  with  all  the 
shrugs  of  his  nation,  and  the  entrance  of  madame  was 
foreshadowed  by  the  coming  in  of  her  stately  cats,  with 
visages  grave  and  tails  erect,  who  preceded,  surrounded, 
and  followed  her.  Her  present  favorite,  Sodoiska,  a 
large  mottled  gray,  was  a  magnificent  creature,  and  in 
her  train  she  pointed  out  Aglai,  her  favorite  eleven 
years  ago  when  I  first  visited  her.  They  are  of  French 
breed  and  education,  and  when  the  claret  and  water  was 
poured  out  for  my  refreshment  they  jumped  on  the  table 
for  a  sit-to.  If  I  can  persuade  the  mail  stage  to  give 
a  place  to  one  of  that  distinguished  family,  I  will  take 
it  to  Camp  Cooper,  provided  madame  can  trust  her  pet 
into  such  a  barbarous  country  and  Indian  society.  I 
left  the  wildcat  on  the  Rio  Grande ;  he  was  too  savage ; 
had  grown  as  large  as  a  small-sized  dog,  had  to  be  caged, 
and  would  strike  at  anything  that  came  within  his  reach. 
His  cage  had  to  be  strong,  and  consequently  heavy,  so 
I  could  not  bring  it.  He  would  pounce  upon  a  kid  as 
Tom  Tita  [the  cat  at  Arlington]  would  on  a  mouse,  and 
would  whistle  like  a  tiger  when  you  approached  him. 
Be  a  good  child  and  think  always  of  your  devoted 
father." 

From  the  same  place  on  the  next  day  he  lets  his  wife 
know  how  difficult  it  was  for  army  officers  to  retain  their 
servants : 

INDIANOLA,  TEXAS,  March  28,  1857. 

Major  Thomas,  anticipating  a  long  sojourn,  brought  down 
Mrs.  Thomas  with  him,  who  told  me  last  evening  of  her  troubles 
in  relation  to  her  womenkind.  She  brought  two  sisters  from  New 
Orleans  under  obligation  to  remain  in  her  service  two  years.  One 


68  GENERAL   LEE. 

of  them  has  become  enamored  of  a  soldier  at  Fort  Mason,  and 
has  engaged  herself  to  marry  him.  Colonel  Taylor  informs  me 
that  his  two  women  servants  married  soldiers  at  Fort  Brown  with 
out  his  knowledge  about  a  fortnight  after  his  arrival.  It  seems 
we  have  our  troubles  wherever  we  are  and  can  not  escape  them. 

The  court-martials  being  over,  Colonel  Lee  started 
for  his  post,  and  at  Fort  Mason,  en  route,  on  the  4th  of 
April,  1857,  writes:  "  I  write  to  inform  you  of  my  prog 
ress  thus  far  on  my  journey.  I  arrived  here  yesterday 
in  a  cold  norther,  and  though  I  pitched  my  tent  in  the 
most  sheltered  place  I  could  find,  I  was  surprised  to  see 
this  morning,  when  getting  up,  my  bucket  of  water,  which 
was  sitting  close  by  my  bed,  so  hard  frozen  that  I  had 
to  break  the  ice  before  I  could  pour  the  water  into  the 
basin.  On  visiting  the  horses  in  the  night  they  seemed 
to  suffer  much  with  cold,  notwithstanding  I  had  stretched 
their  picket  line  under  the  lee  of  a  dense  thicket  to  pro 
tect  them  from  the  wind.  This  post  has  the  advantage 
of  Camp  Cooper  in  providing  habitable  though  homely 
quarters  for  officers  and  men.  This  is  Easter  Sunday. 
I  hope  you  have  been  able  to  attend  the  services  at 
Church.  My  own  have  been  performed  alone  in  my 
tent,  I  hope  with  a  humble,  grateful,  and  penitent  heart, 
and  will  be  acceptable  to  our  Heavenly  Father.  May 
he  continue  his  mercies  to  us  both  and  all  our  children, 
relatives  and  friends,  and  in  his  own  good  time  unite  us 
in  his  worship,  if  not  on  earth,  forever  in  heaven." 

And  on  his  arrival  writes : 

CAMP  COOPER,  TEXAS,  April  19,  1857. 

After  an  absence  of  over  seven  months  I  have  returned  to  my 
Texas  home.  I  heard  of  Indians  on  the  way  but  met  none.  I 
feel  always  as  safe  in  the  wilderness  as  in  the  crowded  city.  I 
know  in  whose  powerful  hands  I  am,  and  on  Him  I  rely  and  feel 
that  in  all  our  life  we  are  upheld  and  sustained  by  Divine  Provi 
dence,  and  that  Providence  requires  us  to  use  the  means  he  has 
put  under  our  control.  He  designs  no  blessing  to  idle  and  in 
active  wishes,  and  the  only  miracle  he  now  exhibits  to  us  is  the 
power  he  gives  to  Truth  ahd  Justice  to  work  their  way  in  this 
wicked  world.  After  so  long  an  absence  I  found  my  valuables  in 
a  better  condition  than  I  had  anticipated.  My  tent  had  frequently 
been  prostrated  by  storms  but  always  rose  again.  It  was,  of  course 
attended  by  a  natural  crash  not  worth  considering,  could  you  re* 
place  your  crockery,  buckets,  etc.,  which  is  impossible. 


AN   OFFICER   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES  ARMY.    69 

The  change  of  the  weather  in  Texas  is  the  sub 
ject  of  a  letter  dated  April  26,  1857:  "The  changes 
of  the  weather  here  are  very  rapid.  Yesterday,  for 
instance,  I  was  in  my  white  linen  coat  and  shirt  all 
the  afternoon,  and  the  thermometer  in  my  tent,  with 
the  walls  raised  and  a  fine  breeze  blowing  through  it, 
stood  at  eighty-nine  degrees.  I  could  not  bear  the 
blanket  at  night,  but  about  twelve  o'clock  a  'norther' 
came  roaring  down  the  valley  of  the  Clear  Fork  and 
made  all  my  blankets  necessary.  This  morning  fires 
and  overcoats  are  in  fashion  again.  A  general  court- 
martial  has  been  convened  here  for  the  trial  of  Lieuten 
ant  Eagle,  Second  Cavalry.  I  am  president  of  the 
court,  I  am  sorry  to  say.  Colonel  Bainbridge,  Major 
Thomas,  Major  Van  Horn,  Major  Paul,  Captain  King, 
and  others  are  members.  I  have  pitched  a  couple  of 
tents  by  the  side  of  mine  for  the  Major  and  Mrs. 
Thomas,  for  she  has  accompanied  him  again,  and  they 
are  to  take  their  meals  with  me.  The  major  can  fare  as 
I  do,  but  I  fear  she  will  fare  badly,  for  my  man  Kumer 
is  both  awkward  and  unskilled.  I  can,  however,  give 
them  plenty  of  bread  and  beef,  but,  with  the  exception  of 
preserved  vegetables,  fruits,  etc.,  I  can  give  very  little 
else.  I  sent  yesterday  to  the  settlements  below  and  got 
a  few  eggs,  some  butter,  and  one  old  hen.  I  shall  not 
reflect  upon  her.  The  game  is  poor  now  and  out  of 
season,  and  we  are  getting  none  of  it.  In  my  next  I 
shall  be  better  able  to  tell  you  how  I  got  on  with  my 
entertainments." 

In  a  letter  dated  Camp  Cooper,  June  9,  1857,  he 
mentions  the  sickness  of  the  troops  :  "  The  great  heat 
has  produced  much  sickness  among  the  men.  The  little 
children,  too,  have  suffered.  A  bright  little  boy  died  a 
few  days  since  from  it.  He  was  the  only  child,  and  his 
parents  were  much  affected  by  his  loss.  They  expressed 
a  great  desire  to  have  him  buried  with  Christian  rites, 
and  asked  me  to  perform  the  ceremony ;  so  for  the  first 
time  in  my  life  I  read  the  beautiful  funeral  service  of 
our  Church  over  the  grave  to  a  large  and  attentive 
audience  of  soldiers." 

And  on  the  25th  of  June,  1857,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Lee,  in  advising  his  wife  and  one  of  his  daughters  to  go 
6 


JO  GENERAL   LEE. 

to  the  Springs,  suggested  that  they  be  escorted  by  his 
youngest  son,  saying:  "A  young  gentleman  who  has 
read  Virgil  must  surely  be  competent  to  take  care  of 
two  ladies,  for  before  I  had  advanced  that  far  I  was  my 
mother's  outdoor  agent  and  confidential  messenger. 
Your  father  [G.  W.  P.  Custis]  must  have  a  pleasant 
time  at  Jamestown,  judging  from  the  newspaper  report 
of  the  celebration.  Tell  him  I  at  last  have  a  prospect 
of  getting  a  puss.  I  have  heard  of  a  batch  of  kittens 
at  a  settler's  town  on  the  river,  and  have  the  promise 
of  one.  I  have  stipulated  if  not  entirely  yellow,  it  must 
at  least  have  some  yellow  in  the  composition  of  the 
color  of  its  coat ;  but  how  I  shall  place  it — when  I  get 
it — and  my  mouse  on  amicable  terms  I  do  not  know." 

In  a  letter  dated  Camp  Cooper,  June  22,  1857,  he 
tells  his  wife  again  of  the  sickness  of  the  troops  and 
of  the  death  of  a  little  boy,  the  son  of  a  sergeant,  about 
one  year  old.  "  His  father  came  to  me,"  he  writes, 
"  with  the  tears  flowing  down  his  cheeks,  and  asked  me 
to  read  the  funeral  services  over  his  body,  which  I  did 
at  the  grave  for  the  second  time  in  my  life.  I  hope  I 
will  not  be  asked  again  ;  for,  though  I  must  believe  it 
is  far  better  for  the  child  to  be  called  by  its  heavenly 
Creator  into  his  presence  in  its  purity  and  innocence, 
unpolluted  by  sin  and  uncontaminated  by  the  vices  of 
the  world,  still,  it  so  wrings  a  parent's  heart  with  anguish 
that  it  is  painful  to  see.  Yet  I  know  it  was  done  in 
mercy  to  both.  The  child  has  been  saved  from  all 
misery  and  sin  here.  The  father  has  been  given  a 
touching  appeal  and  powerful  inducement  to  prepare 
for  hereafter." 

In  the  summer  of  1857,  Colonel  Johnston  being  or 
dered  to  report  to  Washington  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
charge  of  the  Utah  expedition,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lee 
assumed  command  of  his  regiment.  The  death  of  his 
father-in-law,  Mr.  Custis,  recalled  him  to  Arlington  in 
the  fall  of  that  year  ;  but  he  returned  as  soon  as  pos 
sible  to  his  regimental  headquarters  in  Texas.  The 
death  of  the  "adopted  son  of  Washington,"  October  10, 
1857,  in  his  seventy-sixth  year,  was  greatly  deplored. 
His  unbounded  hospitality  was  as  broad  as  his  acres, 
and  his  vivid  recollections  of  the  Father  of  his  Country, 


AN   OFFICER  OF   THE   UNITED   STATES  ARMY.    71 

though  only  eighteen  when  he  died,  and  whose  memory 
he  venerated,  were  most  charmingly  narrated.  His 
father,  John  Parke  Custis,  the  son  of  Mrs.  Washington 
by  her  first  husband,  was  Washington's  aid-de-camp  at 
the  siege  of  Yorktown,  and  died  at  the  early  age  of 
twenty-eight. 

G.  W.  P.  Custis,  the  grandson  of  Mrs.  Washington, 
was  educated  at  Princeton.  His  early  life  was  passed 
at  Mount  Vernon,  but  after  the  death  of  his  grand 
mother,  in  1802,  he  built  Arlington  House,  opposite  the 
city  of  Washington,  on  an  estate  left  him  by  his  father. 
In  his  will  he  decreed  that  all  of  his  slaves  should  be 
set  free  after  the  expiration  of  five  years.  The  time  of 
manumission  came  in  1863,  when  the  flames  of  war  were 
fiercely  raging ;  but  amid  the  exacting  duties  incident 
to  the  position  of  army  commander,  Robert  E.  Lee,  his 
executor,  summoned  them  together  within  his  lines  and 
gave  them  their  free  papers,  as  well  as  passes  through 
the  Confederate  lines  to  go  whither  they  would. 

Mr.  Custis  in  his  will  says :  "  I  give  and  bequeath 
to  my  dearly  beloved  daughter,  Mary  Custis  Lee,  my 
Arlington  House  estate,  containing  seven  hundred  acres, 
more  or  less,  and  my  mill  on  Four  Mile  Run,  in  the 
County  of  Alexandria,  and  the  lands  of  mine  adjacent 
to  said  mill  in  the  counties  of  Alexandria  and  Fairfax, 
in  the  State  of  Virginia,  the  use  and  benefit  of  all  just 
mentioned  during  the  term  of  her  natural  life.  .  .  .  My 
daughter,  Mary  Custis  Lee,  has  the  privilege  by  this 
will  of  dividing  my  family  plate  among  my  grandchil 
dren  ;  but  the  Mount  Vernon  plate,  together  with  every 
article  I  possess  relating  to  Washington,  and  that  came 
from  Mount  Vernon,  is  to  remain  with  my  daughter  at 
Arlington  House  during  said  daughter's  life,  and  at  her 
death  to  go  to  my  eldest  grandson,  George  Washington 
Custis  Lee,  and  to  descend  from  him  entire  and  un 
changed  to  my  latest  posterity."  These  articles  were 
taken  from  Arlington,  General  McClellan  writes,  and  put 
into  the  Patent  Office  in  Washington  for  safe-keeping 
until  such  times  as  they  should  be  restored  to  their 
rightful  owner,  and  that  he  [McClellan]  would  be  willing 
to  testify  to  that  fact  in  a  court  of  justice,  if  it  were 
necessary.  They  were  removed  afterward  from  the 
6 


72  GENERAL   LEE. 

Patent  Office  and  placed  in  the  National  Museum,  where 
they  are  now,  and  all  applications  for  their  restoration 
have  been  refused.  A  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court 
restored  to  General  Custis  Lee  Arlington,  and  Congress 
should  return  these  articles  of  Washington,  which  had 
been  taken  from  his  grandfather's  house  during  the  war. 

Petty  frontier  war  with  savages  was  not  congenial 
to  the  tastes  or  in  accord  with  the  genius  of  such  a  sol 
dier  as  Lee.  Army  life  there  was  not  pleasant  to  offi 
cers  of  his  rank ;  the  forts  were  surrounded  on  all  sides 
by  long  strips  of  dreary,  uninhabited  territory,  and 
in  order  to  better  protect  this  vast  section  of  western 
Texas,  the  ten  companies  constituting  his  regiment  of 
cavalry  were  divided  up  into  garrisons  of  one  or  two 
companies  to  each  post.  Prairie  scouting  was  done 
principally  by  subalterns  with  small  detachments,  a  lieu 
tenant  and  twenty  troopers  being  frequently  detailed 
for  that  purpose.  The  duties  of  a  department  or  regi 
mental  commander  were  for  the  most  part  supervisory. 

No  great  continental  lines  of  railroad  bound  in  those 
days  ocean  to  ocean  with  bands  of  steel.  No  telegraphs 
bore  on  electric  wings  communication  from  fort  to  fort; 
the  United  States  mail  was  carried  by  armed  soldiers  on 
small  mules,  whose  habitual  gait  was  the  gallop,  while  of 
ficers  and  their  families  were  transported  in  ambulances 
drawn  by  mules,  and  accompanied  by  armed  escorts. 
At  the  end  of  each  day's  journey  the  night  was  spent 
in  tents.  Sibley,  of  the  Second  Dragoons,  when  travel 
ing  in  this  way  with  his  wife  and  daughter  over  Texas 
prairies,  first  conceived  the  idea  of  the  famous  tent 
called  after  him ;  he  was  caught  in  a  "  norther,"  and 
made  a  fire  in  his  wall  tent  during  the  night,  hoping  the 
smoke  would  go  out  of  the  opening  in  front;  it  did  not  do 
so,  and  the  next  day  he  worked  at  the  model  of  the  tent, 
in  shape  similar  to  the  Indian  tepee;  the  present  army 
Sibley  tent  is  the  result.  Officers  stationed  at  frontier 
posts  in  those  days  could  not  communicate  with  the 
headquarters  of  the  Department  at  San  Antonio  for 
many  days,  or  hear  from  their  homes  in  the  States  for 
many  weeks. 

The  Indians,  too,  were  not  foemen  worthy  of  Lee's 
steel ;  the  Comanches  were  then  the  largest  and  fiercest 


AN   OFFICER   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES  ARMY. 


73 


tribe  in  Texas.  Attached  to  Lee's  first  station,  Camp 
Cooper,  was  an  "  Indian  reserve."  The  Government 
was  making  its  first  experiment  toward  civilizing  the 
savage.  The  Indians  were  induced  to  come  to  such 
reservation,  where  they  were  fed  and  taken  care  of  at 
Government  expense;  the  great  majority  of  them  did 
not  deign  to  associate  so  familiarly  with  the  pale  faces ; 
some,  however,  came,  especially  in  the  winter  months; 
but  when  the  grass  grew  high  in  the  spring,  and  the 
game  fat,  they  resumed  their  wandering  life,  and  with 
bent  bow  and  a  quiver  full  of  arrows,  lay  in  ambush  to 
kill  those  who  had  fed  them.  Catumseh,  one  of  the  Co- 
manche  chiefs,  was  at  the  reserve  when  Lee  was  at  Camp 
Cooper.  With  true  official  courtesy  the  lieutenant  colonel, 
as  the  commandant  of  the  fort  and  the  representative 
of  the  Great  Father  at  Washington,  decided  to  visit  him, 
and  told  the  interpreter  to  say  to  the  chief  that  he  would 
treat  him  as  a  friend  so  long  as  his  conduct  and  that  of 
the  tribe  deserved  it,  but  would  meet  him  as  an  enemy  the 
moment  he  failed  to  keep  his  word.  Catumseh  was  not 
much  pleased  with  Lee's  views,  receiving  them  with  an 
emphatic  grunt,  relying  principally  upon  producing  a 
profound  impression  upon  his  visitor  by  the  information 
that  he  was  a  "  big  Indian  "  and  had  six  wives,  and 
would  have  more  respect  for  Lee  if  he  had  followed  his 
example.  The  visit  was  not  productive  of  results,  and 
failed  to  establish  the  desired  entente  cordiale  between  the 
two  chiefs.  They  separated,  mutually  convinced  that  the 
other  was  a  cunning  specimen  who  had  to  be  watched. 
During  the  interview  Catumseh  was  in  all  probability 
taking  the  measure  of  Lee's  scalp,  while  Lee  was  in 
turn  disgusted  with  the  paint  and  ornaments  of  the  In 
dian,  for  we  find  him  writing  word  that  he  "was  ren 
dered  more  hideous  than  Nature  made  him."  These 
Indians  were  treacherous  in  disposition  and  filthy  in 
habit;  a  nomadic  life  made  them  active,  vigilant,  and  a 
foe  not  to  be  despised.  Their  strength,  however,  was  in 
ferior  to  that  of  the  soldier,  because  their  food,  clothing, 
and  exposure  were  not  conducive  to  its  development. 
For  breakfast,  dinner,  and  supper,  they  had  the  raw  meat 
of  the  antelope,  deer,  and  buffalo.  It  was  their  habit  to 
cut  it  into  long  strips,  put  it  over  the  backs  of  their  ponies, 


74  GENERAL   LEE. 

ride  on  it  to  keep  it  in  place,  and  whenever  hungry  on 
the  march,  cut  off  a  piece  and  eat  it.  They  were  match 
less  horsemen,  and  could  crawl  under  or  over  the  side 
of  a  horse  with  the  ease  a  squirrel  could  circumscribe  a 
tree.  The  bow  and  arrow  was  their  principal  weapon, 
and  the  precision  of  their  aim  was  wonderful.  They 
would  draw  rings  a  few  feet  in  diameter  on  the  ground, 
and  shooting  an  arrow  to  a  surprising  height  in  the  air, 
cause  it  to  return  and  stick  in  a  previously  designated 
circle.  The  green  turf  was  the  couch  of  the  red  man, 
the  blue  sky  his  coverlet ;  stoicism  and  courage  were 
the  characteristics  of  the  race,  but  combined  with  murder, 
theft,  and  perfidy.  Colonel  Lee  was  doubtless  glad  to 
get  away  from  them.  On  that  Sunday  afternoon,  Octo 
ber  16,  1859,  when  John  Brown  with  a  small  force 
marched  into  Harper's  Ferry  with  the  avowed  purpose 
of  liberating  slaves  and  inaugurating  war  between  the 
whites  and  blacks,  Colonel  Lee  was  enjoying  the  hospi 
tality  of  his  Arlington  home ;  having  asked  for  the  sec 
ond  furlough,  in  a  long  career,  to  settle  up  the  estate  of 
Mr.  Custis,  being  his  sole  executor,  he  was  within  range 
of  the  Secretary  of  War  when  that  officer  decided  to 
take  prompt  measures  to  regain  the  United  States  Ar 
senal  which  Brown  had  captured.  No  one  then  knew 
the  limits  of  this  aggressive  action  of  Brown.  An  of 
ficer  well  equipped  by  experience,  courage,  and  bal 
anced  judgment  was  required  to  represent  the  Gov 
ernment.  The  needle  in  the  Secretary  of  War's  office 
turned  by  mere  force  of  instinct  to  Lee,  and  he  prompt 
ly  responded  to  the  summons.  A  battalion  of  marines 
from  the  navy  yard  at  Washington  was  ordered  to  be 
put  at  his  service,  and  the  troops  of  the  regular  army, 
at  Fort  Monroe.  The  "  John  Brown  raid,"  as  it  was 
termed,  was  the  natural  outgrowth  of  the  agitation  by 
the  abolitionists  of  the  slavery  question  on  the  mind  of 
a  wild  fanatic.  The  mad  actor  in  the  Harper's  Ferry 
tragedy  was  born  in  the  State  of  Kentucky,  and  for  the 
greater  part  of  fifty-nine  years  had  been  a  monomaniac 
on  the  subject  of  freedom  for  the  negro.  His  mind  had 
become  overexcited,  and  in  his  frenzy  he  had  already 
performed  deeds  which  placed  him  close  to  the  dangling 
rope*  At  Springfield,  Mass.,  where  he  once  resided,  he 


AN   OFFICER   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES  ARMY.    »$ 

formed  an  order  called  the  "  League  of  Gileadites," 
pledged  to  rescue  fugitive  slaves.  To  this  order  he  de 
livered  addresses  in  manuscript,  saying  in  one  of  them  : 
"  Stand  by  one  another  and  by  your  friends  while  a 
drop  of  blood  remains  and  by  hanging,  if  you  must." 
Nine  years  afterward  in  Virginia  the  rope  was  placed 
in  uncomfortable  proximity  to  his  own  neck. 

Kansas  when  a  Territory,  and  an  applicant  for  ad 
mission  to  the  American  Union,  was  made  the  abolition 
battlefield ;  John  Brown  went  there,  of  course,  for  agi 
tation  was  the  business  of  his  life.  Acts  of  violence 
were  frequent.  Excitement  in  the  Territory  grew,  and 
finally  culminated  in  the  Pottawattamie  massacre,  where 
five  unoffending  citizens  were  called  from  their  beds 
and  assassinated  by  Brown  and  his  companions.  The 
commotion  created  by  the  carnage  increased  the  noto 
riety  of  the  butcher,  and  he  was  an  abolition  hero. 
Eastern  agitators  placed  on  his  head  the  crown  of  hero 
ism,  and  offers  of  arms  and  money  were  freely  tendered. 
His  fanaticism  grew,  and  his  zeal  knew  no  proper  bounds. 
Virginia  was  sel-ected  as  the  best  point  to  carry  out  his 
plans.  There  he  would  incite  the  negroes  to  rebellion 
and  furnish  them  with  arms  from  the  United  States 
Arsenal.  In  his  madness  he  pictured  a  great  and  grow 
ing  army  of  black  recruits  from  all  portions  of  the 
Southern  States. 

War  for  the  extermination  of  slavery  should  begin  in 
the  State  where  the  Dutch  first  landed  the  negro.  The 
choice  was  approved  by  New  England  supporters  who  lost 
their  money  while  Brown  lost  his  life.  Lee  went  to  Har 
per's  Ferry.  The  marines,  under  their  gallant  officers, 
battered  down  the  door  of  the  engine-house  into  which 
he  had  fled  with  a  portion  of  his  men  for  refuge  from  the 
aroused  citizens.  Brown  was  captured,  tried,  convicted, 
and  hung  on  the  2d  of  December,  1859. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Lee,  from  Harper's  Ferry,  De 
cember  i,  1859,  says  in  a  letter  to  his  wife:  "I  arrived 
here  yesterday,  about  noon,  with  four  companies  from 
Fort  Monroe,  and  was  busy  all  the  evening  getting  ac 
commodations  for  the  men  and  posting  pickets  to  insure 
timely  notice  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  The  feel 
ings  of  the  community  seem  to  have  calmed  down,  and 


76  GENERAL   LEE. 

I  have  been  received  with  every  kindness.  I  presume 
we  are  fixed  here  until  after  the  i6th.  To-morrow  will 
probably  see  the  last  of  Captain  Brown  (Old  John 
Brown).  There  will  be  less  interest  for  the  others,  but 
still  I  think  the  troops  will  not  be  withdrawn  till  they 
are  similarly  disposed  of.  This  morning  I  was  intro 
duced  to  Mrs.  Brown,  who  with  a  Mr.  Tyndale  and  Mrs. 
McKim,  all  from  Philadelphia,  has  come  on  to  have  a 
last  interview  with  her  husband.  As  it  is  a  matter  over 
which  I  have  no  control,  and  wish  to  take  none,  I  re 
ferred  them  to  General  William  B.  Taliaferro.*  Tell 
Smith  [his  brother  in  the  navy]  that  no  charming  women 
have  insisted  on  taking  charge  of  me,  as  they  are  always 
doing  of  him.  I  am  left  to  my  own  resources." 

A  committee  of  Congress  was  appointed  to  investi 
gate  the  matter,  who  reported  that  the  invasion  was  an 
act  of  lawless  ruffians  under  the  sanction  of  no  public 
or  political  authority,  distinguished  from  ordinary  vio 
lence  only  by  the  ulterior  ends  in  contemplation  by  them 
and  by  the  fact  that  the  money  to  maintain  the  expedi 
tion,  and  the  large  amounts  they  had  brought  with  them, 
had  been  contributed  by  other  States  of  the  Union. 

Virginia,  not  knowing  the  extent  of  the  insurrec 
tion,  was  preparing  for  war.  Henry  A.  Wise,  then 
Governor,  promptly  took  active  measures  to  preserve 
the  peace  of  his  State,  and  everywhere  volunteers  ten 
dered  their  service.  When  Colonel  Lee  was  ordered  to 
Harper's  Ferry,  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  a  young  lieutenant  of  the 
First  Cavalry,  was  in  Washington  on  leave  of  absence, 
and  happened  to  be  at  Arlington  on  that  day.  Fond  of 
enterprise  and  indifferent  to  danger,  he  at  once  volun 
teered  as  aid-de-camp  to  Lee,  asked  and  received  per 
mission  to  accompany  him,  and  was  the  first  to  recognize 
Brown,  having  seen  him  in  Kansas.  Afterward  he  be 
came  the  great  cavalry  chieftain  of  the  army  Lee  com 
manded.  The  prisoners  at  Harper's  Ferry  were  at  once 
turned  over  to  the  United  States  District  Attorney,  Mr. 
Robert  Ould,  and  Lee  returned  to  Washington  and  Ar 
lington,  and  in  a  short  time  was  again  on  his  way  to 
resume  his  official  duties  in  Texas.  We  find  him  writing 

*  Commanding  the  Virginia  troops. 


AN  OFFICER   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES   ARMY.    77 

from  San  Antonio,  Texas,  June  25,  1860,  to  Mrs.  Lee,  his 
impressions  of  one  of  the  holidays  there :  "  Yesterday," 
he  says,  "  was  St.  John's  Day,  and  the  principal,  or  at 
least  visible,  means  of  adoration  or  worship  seemed  to 
consist  in  riding  horses.  So  every  Mexican,  and  indeed 
others,  who  could  procure  a  quadruped  were  cavorting 
through  the  streets,  with  the  thermometer  over  a  hun 
dred  degrees  in  the  shade,  a  scorching  sun,  and  dust 
several  inches  thick.  You  can  imagine  the  state  of  the 
atmosphere  and  suffering  of  the  horses,  if  not  the  pleas 
ure  of  the  riders.  As  everything  of  the  horse  tribe  had 
to  be  brought  into  requisition  to  accommodate  the  bipeds, 
unbroken  colts  and  worn-out  hacks  were  saddled  for  the 
occasion.  The  plunging  and  kicking  of  the  former  pro 
cured  excitement  for,  and  the  distress  of  the  latter  mer 
riment  to  the  crowd.  I  did  not  know  before  that  St. 
John  set  so  high  a  value  upon  equitation." 

There  he  remained  until  summoned  to  Washington  in 
February,  1861,  reaching  that  city  on  the  ist  of  March. 
Once  more,  and  for  the  last  time,  he  was  with  his  family 
under  the  roof  of  stately  old  Arlington. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

WAR. 

ROBERT  E.  LEE  was  now  fifty-four  years  old,  and  the 
wheel  of  time  had  recorded  thirty-two  years  of  honorable 
service  in  the  army  of  the  United  States.  During  that 
time  his  country  had  grown  in  population  and  increased 
in  wealth  and  territory  far  exceeding  the  expectations 
and  hopes  of  her  people.  His  profession  had  absorbed 
his  attention  to  such  an  extent  that  he  had  scarcely  no 
ticed  a  gathering  war  cloud  destined  to  discharge  death 
and  destruction  upon  the  American  Republic,  as  well  as 
mark  a  most  important  epoch  in  his  own  life  and  career. 
The  Constitution  adopted  by  the  Convention  at  Phila 
delphia  in  1787  was  the  result  of  a  compromise  of  the 
opinions  of  its  members.  The  scope  and  extent  of  the 
powers  to  be  conferred  on  a  government  to  be  created 
by  the  representatives  of  the  States,  the  line  marking 
those  powers,  and  the  rights  reserved  by  the  States,  was 
a  most  difficult  problem  to  solve.  On  the  one  hand,  if 
too  little  power  were  conferred  on  the  legislative,  execu 
tive,  and  judicial  departments  of  the  Federal  Govern 
ment,  its  organization  might  at  any  moment  be  broken 
to  pieces,  because  not  strong  enough  to  enforce  its  legal 
decrees.  On  the  other  hand,  should  too  much  power  be 
delegated,  a  strong  central  government  might  result,  and 
the  creators — the  States — might  be  crushed  out  of  exist 
ence  by  an  instrument  of  their  own  creation.  The  people 
would  in  that  case  be  returned  to  a  form  of  government 
they  abhorred,  and  from  whose  tyrannical  methods  their 
forefathers  had  breasted  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic,  and 
incurred  all  dangers  in  settling  a  newly  discovered  coun 
try.  The  safety  of  the  States  was  the  safety  of  the  peo 
ple,  and  only  limited  and  defined  powers  must  be  con- 

(78) 


WAR. 


79 


ferred  upon  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  The 
Constitution,  the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  must  state  in 
writing  exactly  the  rights  delegated  by  the  States  for 
their  common  government.  The  powers  not  so  dele 
gated  were  reserved  by  the  States  to  themselves.  They 
possessed  them  because  they  had  never  parted  with  them. 
An  attempt  in  the  Philadelphia  Convention  to  insert  a 
clause  in  the  Constitution  prohibiting  a  State's  with 
drawal  from  the  Union  then  being  formed  could  not 
have  succeeded,  while  an  express  provision  authorizing 
such  secession  would  have  been  regarded  as  unwise  and 
suggestive  of  disunion  of  States  which  were  then  trying  to 
form  "  a  more  perfect  union."  If  the  framers  of  the  Con 
stitution,  when  at  work  in  the  Quaker  City,  said  nothing 
upon  this  very  important  point,  the  States  to  be  bound, 
if  they  ratified  it,  said  much.  They  did  not  purpose  to 
be  blindly  gagged  and  bound  to  the  wheels  of  the  Fed 
eral  chariot,  for  they  possessed  sovereign  power. 

In  the  Declaration  of  Independence  the  colonies 
were  not  declared  independent  of  Great  Britain  in  a  col 
lective  capacity,  but  each  separate  colony  was  trans 
formed  thereby  into  an  independent  State;  and  so  his 
Britannic  Majesty  treats  them  by  name  in  a  provisional 
agreement  in  1782.  When  George  III  withdrew  the 
scepter  of  his  power  from  the  Virginia  colony  it  was  an 
empire  in  territory,  and  became  absolutely  a  free,  inde 
pendent,  and  sovereign  State.  The  allegiance  of  her 
citizens  to  her  was  undisputed  and  admitted.  Before 
the  life-blood  could  circulate  in  the  veins  of  the  new 
Government  it  must  be  stamped  with  the  approbation 
of  the  States ;  it  had  no  power  to  act  unless  ratified  by 
nine  of  these  States.  If  the  other  four  did  not  ratify 
the  Constitution,  the  government  so  formed  was  not 
binding  on  them.  The  State  conventions  called  for  this 
purpose  were  for  the  most  part  cautious  and  exceedingly 
slow  of  action. 

To  the  State  of  Lee's  nativity  the  independence  of  the 
colonies  and  their  union  afterward  as  States  was  largely 
due.  One  of  her  sons  held  the  sword  and  another  the 
pen  that  accomplished  this  great  work.  The  superb  ora 
tory  of  another  kept  the  camp  fires  of  the  Revolution 
burning  brightly,  while  in  ringing  tones  still  another  of 


80  GENERAL   LEE. 

her  citizens  moved  "  That  these  united  colonies  are,  and 
of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  States,  and 
that  all  political  connection  between  these  States  and  the 
State  of  Great  Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dis 
solved."  Nine  States,  a  requisite  number,  had  approved 
the  Constitution  before  Virginia  acted.  The  debates  in 
her  convention  on  this  subject  have  no  equal  in  intel 
lectual  vigor.  Mental  giants,  full-armed  with  wisdom, 
fought  on  either  side.  In  one  rank — opposed  to  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution  as  it  came  from  the  hands 
of  its'framers — was  Patrick  Henry,  George  Mason,  Rich 
ard  Henry  Lee,  James  Monroe,  Benjamin  Harrison,  and 
William  Grayson.  In  the  other  were  James  Madison, 
John  Marshall,  Edmund  Randolph,  Edmund  Pendleton, 
and  General  Henry  Lee,  and  behind  them,  as  a  power 
ful  reserve,  was  the  great  influence  of  Washington.  On 
the  final  vote  friends  of  the  measure  secured  a  majority 
of  only  ten  votes.  The  next  State  to  adopt  it  after 
Virginia  was  New  York,  and  she  did  so  by  only  three 
votes.  North  Carolina  did  not  join  the  Union  immedi 
ately,  and  Rhode  Island  for  fifteen  months,  after  the  new 
Constitution  had  gone  into  operation.  The  delay  in  the 
action  of  these  States,  and  the  close  votes  in  so  many 
others,  was  the  result  of  an  undefined  fear  in  the  public 
mind  that  as  years  rolled  on  the  government  they  were 
then  creating  might  in  turn  destroy  the  autonomy  of 
the  various  States. 

Massachusetts,  South  Carolina,  and  New  York  had 
made,  as  the  price  of  their  ratifying  the  Constitution, 
amendments  to  guard  as  far  as  possible  against  consoli 
dated  powers.  Robert  Lee  knew  all  this;  he  knew  also 
that  his  own  State  had  been  remarkably  careful  upon 
this  important  point,  for  she  had  declared,  upon  consent 
ing  to  go  into  the  Union  then  formed  by  the  action  of 
nine  States,  "that  the  powers  granted  under  the  Con 
stitution,  being  truly  derived  from  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  may  be  resumed  by  them  whenever  the 
same  shall  be  perverted  to  their  injury  or  oppression." 
Without  any  act  of  his,  face  to  face  he  was  confronted 
with  the  great  question — loyalty  to  the  General  Govern 
ment  or  loyalty  to  Virginia.  Would  it  be  treason  to 
substitute  for  the  E  Pluribus  Unum  written  upon  the 


WAR.  8 1 

scroll  of  the  beak  of  the  eagle  Virginia's  Sic  Semper 
Tyrannis  ?  He  had  been  taught  when  a  boy  that  his 
first  duty  was  to  his  mother  Commonwealth.  How, 
then,  could  he  be  a  traitor  if  he  placed  his  hand  in  hers 
and  knelt  at  her  feet  when  she  called  him  lovingly  to 
her  side  ?  His  elevated  character  and  conscientiousness 
of  purpose  appealed  to  him  to  decide  in  an  honorable 
way  this  question.  During  those  anxious  moments  how 
his  thoughts  must  have  marched  and  countermarched 
upon  constitutional  questions !  At  that  very  time  he 
might  have  heard  a  distinguished  senator,  who  after 
ward  became  Vice-President  and  President  of  the 
United  States,  declare  from  his  seat  that  the  Federal 
Government  possessed  no  sovereign  power;  that  it 
could  not  coerce  a  State;  that  under  the  Constitution 
you  can  not  apprehend  any  of  the  States  as  a  party ; 
and  that  all  the  powers  of  the  General  Government  were 
derived,  and  that  it  had  no  single  primitive  power.  The 
study  of  the  early  history  of  his  country  convinced  Lee 
that  while  the  secession  of  a  State  from  the  Union  might 
not  be  a  remedy,  it  was  not  a  violation  of  the  Consti 
tution  so  far  as  the  original  thirteen  States  were  con 
cerned.  He  probably  found  also,  in  the  anxious  study 
he  was  then  making  to  arrive  at  a  proper  solution  of  the 
question,  that  this  theory  of  constitutional  government 
was  recognized  by  most  of  the  States  when  the  Union 
was  formed. 

For  instance,  Massachusetts  had  declared  in  1809, 
when  the  Embargo  Act  was  passed  by  Congress,  that  it 
was  not  binding  upon  her  citizens;  and  in  December, 
1810,  one  of  her  members  of  Congress  declared  that  if 
Louisiana  were  admitted  into  the  Union  it  would  lead 
to  its  dissolution;  the  New  England  States  would 
secede,  "  amicably  if  they  might,  forcibly  if  they  must." 
And  he  found  similar  instances  in  the  history  of  Penn 
sylvania  and  Kentucky.  In  Pennsylvania  he  found 
that  that  State  had  placed  herself  on  record  by  an  act 
of  her  Legislature,  as  well  as  by  her  Governor,  to  pre 
vent  a  decree  of  a  United  States  judge  from  being  exe 
cuted,  boldly  asserting  that  it  was  her  duty  to  protect 
her  citizens,  and  to  her  their  allegiance  must  first  be 
given.  In  his  examination  of  this  perplexing  subject 


82  GENERAL   LEE. 

he  might  have  noticed  that  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  at  that  time  made  it  mandatory  on  the 
Governor  of  a  State  to  give  up  a  fugitive  from  justice 
to  the  Governor  of  the  State  he  had  fled  from,  in  order 
that  he  might  be  tried  by  the  laws  of  that  State ;  but 
that,  notwithstanding  the  Constitution,  governors  of 
sovereign  States  did  not  give  up  offenders  unless  they 
chose  to  do  so.  Indeed,  in  a  rendition  contest  between 
the  States  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  Mr.  Taney,  then  Chief 
Justice  of  the  United  States,  delivering  a  decision  of 
the  Court,  said :  "  While  admitting  that  the  Constitu 
tion  was  mandatory  on  the  governors,  there  was  not  a 
line  in  it  which  gave  power  to  the  General  Government 
to  compel  a  State  to  do  anything." 

Lee  had  probably  read,  too,  that  a  convention  com 
posed  of  the  representatives  of  the  New  England  States 
had  assembled  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  in  1814,  to  protest 
against  the  war  with  England  because  of  the  great  dam 
age  it  was  inflicting  on  the  shipping  interests  of  that 
section.  He  might  have  seen  that  secession  was  advo 
cated  as  the  remedy,  while  the  declaration  was  made 
that  "if  the  Union  be  destined  to  dissolution,"  some 
new  form  of  confederacy  should  be  substituted  among 
those  States  which  shall  not  need  to  maintain  a  federal 
relation  with  each  other.  Fortunately,  peace  was  de 
clared  with  Great  Britain,  or  at  that  time  there  might  have 
been  a  secession  of  the  New  England  States.  It  was  an 
interesting  question  to  this  lieutenant  colonel  of  cavalry, 
that  if  this  action  had  been  taken  by  the  New  England 
States,  and  the  States  remaining  in  the  Union  had  in 
vaded  their  territory  for  the  purpose  of  coercion,  upon 
what  side  would  the  large  majority  of  the  citizens  of  the 
New  England  States  have  been  found  fighting? 

The  more  Robert  E.  Lee  thought  upon  the  subject 
the  more  he  became  convinced,  first,  that  Virginia  in 
seceding  from  the  Union  was  exercising  the  right  she 
had  reserved  when  she  entered  it.  Second,  that  if  war 
must  follow,  his  sword  should  be  drawn  in  her  defense, 
and  not  be  pointed  against  her.  In  the  soil  of  old  Vir 
ginia  were  buried  those  nearest  and  dearest  to  him.  His 
ancestors  had  first  settled  within  her  limits.  She  was  to 
be  invaded  because  she  exercised  a  right  not  denied  her 


WAR.  83 

by  the  Constitution,  and  her  course  had  been  determined 
by  a  convention  of  the  representatives  of  her  people  duly 
called  to  consider  the  question ;  and  a  convention  voiced 
the  highest  authority  of  a  State.  He  may  have  deplored 
her  action,  but  he  could  not  oppose  his  judgment  to  the 
collective  wisdom  of  her  representatives  whose  action 
had  been  solemnly  indorsed  by  her  people  at  the  polls. 
The  irrepressible  conflict  had  to  be  met  in  his  own  per 
son.  He  had  seen,  but  could  not  prevent  the  sections 
from  drifting  apart.  If  the  interests  of  the  manufactur 
ing  and  shipping  States  of  the  North  and  the  agricul 
tural  States  of  the  South  were  not  in  entire  harmony,  he 
had  hoped  that  a  possible  remedy  might  be  found.  Mr. 
Lincoln  received  only  1,857,000  of  the  popular  vote, 
while  Breckinridge,  Douglas,  and  Bell  received  2,800,- 
ooo ;  but  that  was  not  a  sufficient  reason  in  his  opinion 
to  declare  war.  If  he  had  much  to  do  with  John 
Brown's  body  lying  moldering  in  the  ground,  the  fact 
that  his  spirit  was  marching  on  down  the  abolition  ranks 
did  not  disturb  him.  His  State  when  a  colony  was  op 
posed  to  slavery.  The  first  speech  his  eloquent  rela 
tive,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  ever  made  was  in  favor  of  the 
motion  to  lay  so  heavy  a  duty  on  the  importation  of 
slaves  as  effectually  to  put  an  end  to  the  iniquitous  and 
disgraceful  traffic  in  the  colony  of  Virginia. 

Lee  had  read,  too,  Jefferson's  indictment  of  Great 
Britain  for  allowing  the  slave  trade  when  he  penned  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  He  knew  that  slavery  ex 
isted  in  the  Northern  States  so  long  as  it  was  profitable, 
and  was  abolished  when  it  was  not,  and  that  the  May 
flower  which  landed  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  on  Plymouth 
Rock  sailed  on  its  very  next  voyage  with  a  cargo  of 
slaves.  He  had  found  the  negroes  shucking  corn  and 
hoeing  potatoes.  They  had  always  been  kindly  treated 
by  him ;  and  no  more  happy,  contented,  well-clothed 
and  well-fed  negroes  ever  existed  than  those  at  Arling 
ton.  He  would  not  have  fought  to  preserve  slavery ;  he 
disapproved  of  it  and  had  years  before  freed  his  own, 
and  Mr.  Custis  had  freed  by  will  all  of  his.  He  re 
gretted  war,  but  did  not  regret  as  one  of  its  results  the 
probable  freedom  of  the  slave,  although  he  knew  that 
slavery  had  called  a  race  of  savages  from  superstition 


84  GENERAL   LEE. 

and  idolatry  and  imparted  to  them  a  general  knowledge 
of  the  precepts  of  religion.  Indeed,  he  is  recorded  as 
saying  at  that  time  that  if  he  owned  all  the  negroes  of 
the  South  he  would  gladly  yield  them  up  for  the  preser 
vation  of  the  Union.  In  1861  Lee  hoped  and  prayed 
that  the  Temple  of  American  Liberty  might  still  stand 
in  the  majesty  of  its  vast  proportions,  complete  in  all  of 
its  parts,  each  pillar  representing  with  equal  strength  an 
American  State.  He  sincerely  hoped  each  State  would 
pursue  the  path  designated  for  it  by  the  Constitution, 
as  the  planets  revolve  in  well-defined  orbits  around  the 
great  central  sun.  He  wrote  from  Texas  in  1861  that 
he  could  not  anticipate  a  greater  calamity  for  the  coun 
try  than  the  dissolution  of  the  Union,  and  that  he  was 
willing  to  sacrifice  anything  but  honor  for  its  preserva 
tion.  And  in  another  letter  from  Fort  Mason,  Texas, 
January,  1861,  to  Mrs.  Lee,  he  says :  "  You  see  by  a  for 
mer  letter  that  I  received  from  Major  Nicholl,  Everett's 
Life  of  Washington  you  sent  me,  and  enjoyed  its  peru 
sal  very  much.  How  his  spirit  would  be  grieved  could 
he  see  the  wreck  of  his  mighty  labors !  I  will  not,  how 
ever,  permit  myself  to  believe,  till  all  ground  for  hope  is 
gone,  that  the  work  of  his  noble  deeds  will  be  destroyed, 
and  that  his  precious  advice  and  virtuous  example  will 
soon  be  forgotten  by  h'is  countrymen.  As  far  as  I  can 
judge  from  the  papers,  we  are  between  a  state  of  anarchy 
and  civil  war.  May  God  avert  from  us  both.  I  fear 
mankind  for  years  will  not  be  sufficiently  Christianized 
to  bear  the  absence  of  restraint  and  force.  I  see  that 
four  States  have  declared  themselves  out  of  the  Union. 
Four  more  apparently  will  follow  their  example.  Then 
if  the  border  States  are  dragged  into  the  gulf  of  revo 
lution,  one  half  of  the  country  will  be  arrayed  against 
the  other,  and  I  must  try  and  be  patient  and  wait  che 
end,  for  I  can  do  nothing  to  hasten  or  retard  it." 

It  was  hard  for  Lee  to  give  up  his  position  in  the 
army  and  separate  himself  from  his  army  comrades  and 
associations.  He  wrote  in  1849,  from  Mobile,  Ala. : 
"  I  have  met  many  officers  of  the  garrison  who  were 
with  me  in  Mexico.  You  have  often  heard  me  say 
the  cordiality  and  friendship  in  the  army  was  the  great 
attraction  of  the  service.  It  is  that,  I  believe,  that  has 


WAR.  85 

kept  me  in  it  so  long,  and  it  is  that  which  now  makes 
me  fear  to  leave  it.  I  do  not  know  where  I  should  meet 
with  so  much  friendship  out  of  it." 

While  he  was  wrestling  with  this  disturbing  question 
at  Arlington  his  old  commander,  Scott,  just  across  the 
river,  was  pleading  for  him  to  remain  in  the  service  of 
the  United  States.  The  veteran  general  had  impressed 
the  President  with  the  distinguished  services  of  Colonel 
Lee,  and  urged  that  every  effort  should  be  made  to 
keep  him  on  the  side  of  the  Union,  going  so  far  as  to 
say  that  he  would  be  worth  fifty  thousand  men  to  their 
cause.  Probably  it  was  due  to  Scott  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
requested  Mr.  Francis  Preston  Blair  to  have  an  inter 
view  with  Lee,  and  secure  him  by  the  tempting  offer 
of  the  command  of  the  active  army  of  the  United  States. 
Neither  the  President  nor  his  officers  knew  the  man. 
Three  years  after  the  war,  in  a  letter  to  the  Honorable 
Reverdy  Johnson,  of  Maryland,  dated  February  25, 
1868,  is  found  for  the  first  time  his  account  of  this  in 
terview:  "After  listening  to  Blair's  remarks,"  write? 
Lee,  "  I  declined  the  offer  he  made  me  to  take  command 
of  the  army  that  was  to  be  brought  into  the  field,  stat 
ing,  as  candidly  and  courteously  as  I  could,  that,  though 
opposed  to  secession  and  deprecating  war,  I  could  take 
no  part  in  an  invasion  of  the  Southern  States. 

"  I  went  directly  from  the  interview  with  Mr.  Blair  to 
the  office  of  General  Scott,  told  him  of  the  proposition 
that  had  been  made  me,  and  my  decision.  After  reflection 
upon  returning  home,  I  concluded  that  I  ought  no  longer 
to  retain  any  commission  I  held  in  the  United  States 
Army,  and  on  the  second  morning  thereafter  I  forwarded 
my  resignation  to  General  Scott.  At  the  time  I  hoped  that 
peace  would  have  been  preserved ;  that  some  way  would 
be  found  to  save  the  country  from  the  calamities  of  war ; 
and  I  then  had  no  other  intention  than  to  pass  the  re 
mainder  of  my  life  as  a  private  citizen.  Two  days  after 
ward,  on  the  invitation  of  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  I 
repaired  to  Richmond,  found  that  the  convention  then 
in  session  had  passed  an  ordinance  withdrawing  the  State 
from  the  Union,  and  accepted  the  commission  of  com 
mander  or  its  forces,  which  was  tendered  me." 

"  Since  the  Son  of  Man  stood  on  the  mount,"  said  an 
7 


86  GENERAL  LEE. 

orator,  "  and  saw  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  and  the 
glory  thereof  stretching  before  him,  and  turned  away 
from  them  to  the  agony  and  bloody  sweat  of  Gethsemane, 
and  to  the  Cross  of  Calvary  beyond,  no  follower  of  the 
meek  and  lowly  Saviour  can  have  undergone  a  more  try 
ing  ordeal,  or  met  it  with  a  more  heroic  spirit  of  sacrifice." 

Two  and  a  half  months  before  Colonel  Lee's  resig 
nation  the  conventions  of  South  Carolina,  Mississippi, 
Florida,  Alabama,  Georgia,  Louisiana,  and  Texas  had 
respectively  passed  ordinances  taking  these  States  out 
of  the  Union ;  and  their  delegates  had  assembled  at 
Montgomery,  Ala.,  and  formed  a  new  government,  under 
the  name  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America.  On 
February  4th,  the  date  of  the  birth  of  the  new  govern 
ment,  at  Virginia's  request,  a  peace  conference,  com 
posed  of  delegates  from  twenty-one  States,  met  in  Wash 
ington.  The  Congress  of  the  United  States  rejected 
all  terms  of  settlement  proposed  by  it,  and  the  rising 
tide  of  sectional  strife  passed  the  high-water  mark. 

If  the  seven  Southern  States  which  first  formed  the 
Confederacy  were  terribly  in  earnest,  so  equally  were 
the  Northern  and  Eastern  States  in  opposition  to  the 
new  government.  The  border  States,  upon  whose  breast 
the  storm  of  war  must  break,  were  still  hoping  for  a 
peaceable  solution  of  the  trouble ;  the  problem  was 
soon-  solved  for  them.  In  Charleston  Harbor,  South 
Carolina,  out  of  the  waters  rises  a  fortress  of  the 
United  States  called  Sumter.  It  is  situated  in  the 
middle  of  the  harbor,  and  was  erected  on  an  artificial 
island  built  on  the  shoals.  Its  walls  were  eight  feet 
thick  and  forty  feet  high.  It  was  five-sided,  inclosing 
a  space  of  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  On  its 
ramparts  and  in  its  casements  one  hundred  and  forty 
guns  could  be  mounted,  and  its  full  garrison  was  six 
hundred  men.  This  fort  was  originally  occupied  only 
by  an  engineer,  who  was  employing  some  workmen  in 
its  repairs;  but  at  Fort  Moultrie,  on  a  narrow  neck 
of  land  extending  into  the  harbor,  was  a  garrison  of 
sixty-nine  soldiers  and  nine  officers  under  the  com 
mand  of  Major  Robert  Anderson.  This  officer,  hav 
ing  every  reason  to  apprehend  an  attack  upon  his 
position,  decided  to  abandon  Moultrie  and  take  pos- 


WAR.  87 

session  of  Sumter,  which  he  did  on  the  night  of  De 
cember  26th.  Robert  Anderson  was  a  Kentuckian,  and 
a  West  Point  graduate  of  the  class  of  1827,  whose  sym 
pathies  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  were  rather  on  the 
side  of  the  South.  He  continued  to  occupy  with  his 
little  force  this  island  fort,  while  Beauregard,  who  had 
resigned  from  the  United  States  Army  and  was  already 
commissioned  by  the  seceding  States,  was  building  hos 
tile  batteries  on  every  side.  A  crisis  in  this  harbor  was 
fast  approaching.  The  Government  of  the  United  States 
decided  to  make  an  attempt  to  throw  men  and  provisions 
into  the  fort,  and  when  this  became  known,  orders  were 
issued  from  Montgomery  for  Beauregard  to  open  his 
batteries.  In  the  gray  of  the  morning  at  half-past  four 
on  a  certain  Friday,  April  12,  1861,  a  single  shot  fired 
from  the  Confederate  batteries  at  Fort  Johnson  an 
nounced  that  the  bombardment  of  a  fort  over  whose 
grim  walls  floated  the  Stars  and  Stripes  was  about  to  be 
gin.  The  report  of  the  bursting  of  this  shell  startled 
the  country  from  center  to  circumference.  The  Angel 
of  Peace  which  for  months  had  been  hovering  over  the 
republic  plumed  his  wings  for  flight  and  the  Demon  of 
War  reigned  supreme.  President  Lincoln  followed  this 
act  of  war  by  issuing  a  proclamation  calling  for  seventy- 
five  thousand  troops.  A  prompt  response  was  given  to 
him  by  the  governors  of  the  Northern  States;  but  those 
of  Arkansas,  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  North  Carolina,  Vir 
ginia,  and  Missouri  declined  in  terms  more  or  less  em 
phatic.  The  secession  of  all  these  States  from  the  Union 
followed,  except  Kentucky  and  Missouri,  whose  sym 
pathies  were  divided,  and  their  union  with  the  Govern 
ment  formed  at  Montgomery,  Ala.,  was  speedily  made. 
On  April  17, 1861,  the  Ordinance  of  Secession  was  passed 
by  the  Virginia  Convention,  and  the  day  following,  Lee 
had  a  long  interview  with  his  old  commander,  General 
Scott.  On  the  2oth  the  die  was  cast ;  his  Rubicon  was 
crossed,  for  the  resignation  *  of  his  commission  in  the 

*  ARLINGTON,  WASHINGTON  CITY  P.  O.,  April  20,  1861. 
Honorable  Simon  Cameron,  Secretary  of  War. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  tender  the  resignation  of  my  commission 
as  colonel  of  the  first  regiment  of  cavalry. 

Very  respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

R.  E.  LEE,  Colonel,  First  Cavalry. 


88  GENERAL   LEE. 

army  of  the  United  States  was  respectfully  tendered  to 
the  War  Department.  His  letter  explanatory  of  his 
position  at  that  time,  though  familiar  to  the  public,  is 
given  here  as  the  best  expression  of  his  feelings  upon  so 
momentous  a  subject : 

ARLINGTON,  VA.,  April  20,  1861. 

GENERAL:  Since  my  interview  with  you  on  the  i8th  inst.  I 
have  felt  that  I  ought  no  longer  to  retain  my  commission  in  the 
army.  I  therefore  tender  my  resignation,  which  I  request  you 
will  recommend  for  acceptance.  It  would  have  been  presented 
at  once  but  for  the  struggle  it  has  cost  me  to  separate  myselt 
from  a  service  to  which  I  have  devoted  the  best  years  of  my  life 
and  all  the  ability  I  possessed.  During  the  whole  of  that  time — 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century — I  have  experienced  nothing  but 
kindness  from  my  superiors  and  a  most  cordial  friendship  from 
my  comrades.  To  no  one,  General,  have  I  been  as  much  in 
debted  as  to  yourself  for  uniform  kindness  and  consideration,  and 
it  has  always  been  my  ardent  desire  to  merit  your  approbation. 
I  shall  carry  to  the  grave  the  most  grateful  recollections  of  your 
kind  consideration,  and  your  name  and  fame  shall  always  be  dear 
to  me.  Save  in  the  defense  of  my  native  State  I  never  desire 
again  to  draw  my  sword.  Be  pleased  to  accept  my  most  earnest 
wishes  for  the  continuance  of  your  happiness  and  prosperity,  and 
believe  me,  most  truly  yours, 

(Signed)  R.  E.  LEE. 

To  his  sister  in  Baltimore,  whose  husband  was  a 
strong  Union  man,  Colonel  Lee  wrote  the  same  day, 
telling  her  that  he  had  resigned  ;  that  he  had  decided 
the  question  whether  he  should  take  part  for  or  against 
his  native  State,  saying :  "  With  all  my  devotion  to 
the  Union  and  the  feeling  of  loyalty  and  duty  of  an 
American  citizen,  I  have  not  been  able  to  make  up  my 
mind  to  raise  my  hand  against  my  relatives,  my  children, 
my  home.  I  know  you  will  blame  me,  but  you  must 
think  as  kindly  of  me  as  you  can,  and  believe  I  have 
endeavored  to  do  what  I  thought  right.  May  God 
guard  and  protect  you  and  yours,  and  pour  upon  you 
every  blessing,  is  the  prayer  of  your  devoted  brother." 

He  wrote  still  a  third  letter,  upon  this  eventful  day, 
to  his  brother,  Sydney  Smith  Lee,  at  that  time  a  com 
mander  in  the  United  States  Navy : 

ARLINGTON,  VA.,  April  20,  1861. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER  SMITH  :  The  question  which  was  the 
subject  of  my  earnest  consultation  with  you  on  the  i8th  inst.  has 


WAR.  89 

in  my  own  mind  been  decided.  After  the  most  anxious  inquiry 
as  to  the  correct  course  for  me  to  pursue,  I  concluded  to  resign, 
and  sent  in  my  resignation  this  morning.  I  wished  to  wait  till 
the  Ordinance  of  Secession  should  be  acted  on  by  the  people  of 
Virginia ;  but  war  seems  to  have  commenced,  and  I  am  liable  at 
any  time  to  be  ordered  on  duty,  which  I  could  not  conscientiously 
perform.  To  save  me  from  such  a  position,  and  to  prevent  the 
necessity  of  resigning  under  orders,  I  had  to  act  at  once,  and  be 
fore  I  could  see  you  again  on  the  subject,  as  I  had  wished.  I  am 
now  a  private  citizen,  and  have  no  other  ambition  than  to  remain 
at  home.  Save  in  the  defense  of  my  native  State,  I  have  no  de 
sire  ever  again  to  draw  my  sword.  I  send  you  my  warmest  love. 

Your  affectionate  brother, 
(Signed)  R.  E.  LEE. 

It  was  necessary  now  to  bid  farewell  to  old  Arlington, 
where  so  many  happy  memories  of  the  past  had  clustered. 
He  must  say  good-by  to  his  army  comrades,  and  his 
sword  must  soon  be  crossed  with  many  of  them  on  the 
bloody  field  of  battle.  With  conflicting  emotions  he  de 
parted  from  what  had  been  the  capital  of  his  country  so 
long,  and  went  immediately  to  Richmond,  the  capital  of 
his  State.  His  coming  had  been  anxiously  looked  for, 
and  his  mother  Commonwealth  opened  wide  her  arms  to 
embrace  her  distinguished  son.  He  was  at  once  nom 
inated  by  the  Governor  to  the  Virginia  Convention  still 
in  session  there,  to  be  a  major  general  and  commander 
in  chief  of  the  Virginia  forces.  When  the  question  of 
his  nomination  was  put  to  that  body,  there  was  an  im 
mediate  and  ardent  response,  which  attested  the  cordial 
and  unbounded  confidence  in  the  man  to  whom  Virginia 
committed  her  fortunes.  The  next  day  Major-General 
Lee  was  invited  to  appear  before  the  convention.  The 
invitation  greatly  disturbed  him  ;  he  was  so  modest,  so 
opposed  to  display,  so  little  accustomed  to  be  gazed  at 
by  the  public,  and  certainly  never  before  had  been  placed 
in  such  a  trying  position.  But  what  could  he  do  ?  The 
ceremony  had  been  prepared  ;  he  had  accepted  the  com 
mand  of  the  troops  of  Virginia  after  having  declined  the 
command  of  the  United  States  Army.  Virginia,  through 
her  convention,  wanted  to  see  him.  A  committee  had 
been  appointed  to  transmit  its  invitation  and  conduct 
him  to  its  presence.  "  The  hall  was  crowded,"  said  the 
historian,  "  with  an  eager  audience."  All  the  members 


90  GENERAL   LEE. 

of  the  convention  stood  as  a  mark  of  respect.  On  the 
right  of  the  presiding  officer  were  Governor  Letcher,  of 
Virginia,  and  Mr.  Stevens,  the  Vice-President  of  the 
Confederacy,  and  on  the  left  members  of  the  Advisory 
Council  of  Virginia.  Leaning  on  the  arm  of  Mr.  Mar- 
maduke  Johnson,  of  Richmond,  chairman  of  the  com 
mittee,  General  Lee  entered  the  hall.  Every  spectator 
admired  the  personal  appearance  of  the  man,  his  dignified 
figure,  his  air  of  self-composure,  his  strength  of  feature, 
in  which  shone  the  steady  animation  of  a  consciousness 
of  power,  purpose,  and  decision.  He  was  in  the  full  and 
hardy  flush  of  ripe  years  and  vigorous  health.  His  form 
was  tall,  its  constituents  well  knit  together  ;  his  head, 
well  shaped  and  squarely  built,  gave  indication  of  a 
powerful  intellect.  The  face,  not  yet  interlined  by  age, 
still  remarkable  for  its  personal  beauty,  was  lighted  up 
by  eyes  black  in  the  shade,  but  brown  in  the  full  light, 
clear,  benignant,  but  with  a  deep  recess  of  light,  a  cur 
tained  fire  in  them  that  blazed  in  moments  of  excite 
ment  ;  the  countenance  and  natural  expression  were 
gentle  and  benevolent,  yet  striking  the  beholder  as  mask 
ing  an  iron  will.  His  manners  were  at  once  grave  and 
kindly  without  gayety  or  abandon.  He  was  also  with 
out  any  affectation  of  dignity.  Such  is  the  man  whose 
stately  figure  in  the  capital  at  Richmond  brought  to 
mind  the  old  race  of  Virginians,  and  who  was  thereafter 
to  win  a  reputation  not  only  as  the  first  commander, 
but  also  as  a  perfect  and  beautiful  model  of  manhood. 

When  about  half-way  up  the  main  aisle  Mr.  Johnson 
stopped,  and  in  ponderous  tones  said  :  "  Mr.  President, 
I  have  the  honor  to  present  to  you  and  to  the  conven 
tion  Major-General  Lee."  The  general's  retreat  was  cut 
off  by  the  crowd  of  people  who  pressed  up  the  hall  in  his 
rear.  The  president  of  the  convention,  Mr.  Janney,  of 
the  County  of  Loudoun,  was  to  voice  the  sentiments  of 
the  body  over  which  he  had  ably  presided,  and  Lee  must 
face  the  music  of  Janney's  eloquence,  so  he  stood  calmly 
while  the  president  of  the  convention  said : 

"  Major-General  Lee,  in  the  name  of  the  people  of 
our  native  State  here  represented,  I  bid  you  a  cordial 
and  heartfelt  welcome  to  this  hall  in  which  we  may  yet 
almost  hear  the  echo  of  the  voices  of  the  statesmen  and 


WAR.  gi 

soldiers  and  sages  of  bygone  days  who  have  borne  your 
name,  whose  blood  now  flows  in  your  veins.  When  the 
necessity  became  apparent  of  having  a  leader  for  our 
forces,  all  hearts  and  all  eyes,  with  an  instinct  which  is  a 
surer  guide  than  reason  itself,  turned  to  the  old  county 
of  Westmoreland.  We  know  how  prolific  she  had  been 
in  other  days  of  heroes  and  statesmen.  We  know  she 
had  given  birth  to  the  Father  of  his  Country,  to  Richard 
Henry  Lee,  to  Monroe,  and  last,  though  not  least,  to 
your  own  gallant  father;  and  we  knew  well  by  your  deeds 
that  her  productive  power  was  not  yet  exhausted.  We 
watched  with  the  most  profound  and  intense  interest  the 
triumphal  march  of  the  army  led  by  General  Scott,  to 
which  you  were  attached,  from  Vera  Cruz  to  the  capital 
of  Mexico.  We  read  of  the  sanguinary  conflicts  and 
blood-stained  fields,  in  all  of  which  victory  perched  upon 
our  banners.  We  know  of  the  unfading  luster  that  was 
shed  on  the  American  armies  by  that  campaign,  and  we 
know  also  what  your  modesty  has  always  disclaimed — that 
no  small  share  of  the  glory  of  these  achievements  was 
due  to  your  valor  and  military  genius.  Sir,  we  have  by 
this  unanimous  vote  expressed  our  convictions  that  you 
are  at  this  time  among  the  living  citizens  of  Virginia, 
'  first  in  war'  We  pray  to  God  most  fervently  that  you 
may  conduct  the  operations  committed  to  your  charge, 
that  it  will  soon  be  said  of  you  that  you  are  the  '•first  in 
peace,'  and  when  that  time  comes  you  will  have  earned 
the  still  prouder  distinction  of  being  '•first  in  the  hearts 
of  your  countrymen'  When  the  Father  of  his  Country 
made  his  last  will  and  testament  he  gave  his  swords  to 
his  favorite  nephews  with  the  injunction  that  they  should 
never  be  drawn  from  their  scabbards  except  in  self-de 
fense,  or  in  defense  of  the  rights  and  principles  of  their 
country,  and  that  if  drawn  for  the  latter  purpose,  they 
should  fall  with  them  in  their  hands  rather  than  relin 
quish  them.  Yesterday  your  mother  Virginia  placed  her 
sword  in  your  hand  upon  the  implied  condition  that  in 
all  things  you  will  keep  it  to  the  letter  and  spirit,  that 
you  will  draw  it  only  in  defense,  and  that  you  will  fall 
with  it  in  your  hand  rather  than  that  the  object  for  which 
it  is  placed  there  should  fail." 

The   reply  of  General    Lee  was  simple  and   short, 


92  GENERAL   LEE. 

Washington-like  in  modesty  and  touching  in  language. 
His  heart  was  filled  with  emotion  as  he  heard  the  very 
language  his  father  had  used  in  reference  to  the  great 
Washington,  applied  so  many  years  afterward  to  himself. 
The  scene  was  solemn  as  well  as  new  to  the  soldier. 

u  Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention," 
said  he  in  reply,  "  profoundly  impressed  with  the  so 
lemnity  of  the  occasion,  for  which  I  must  say  I  was  not 
prepared,  I  accept  the  position  assigned  me  by  your 
partiality.  I  would  have  much  preferred  had  the  choice 
fallen  upon  an  abler  man.  Trusting  in  Almighty  God, 
an  approving  conscience,  and  the  aid  of  my  fellow-citi 
zens,  I  devote  myself  to  the  service  of  my  native  State, 
in  whose  behalf  alone  will  I  ever  again  draw  my  sword." 
It  was  his  first  and  last  speech,  and  under  all  the  circum 
stances  he  could  safely  rest  his  oratorical  reputation 
upon  this  single  effort.  It  is  possible,  had  he  selected  a 
public  profession  after  the  war,  we  could  have  said  of 
him  as  Pope  said  of  Argyll : 

The  State's  thunder  born  to  wield, 

And  shake  at  once  the  Senate  and  the  field. 

He  had  now  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  new  duties 
and  assumed  new  responsibilities.  The  bridge  over  which 
he  had  crossed  from  Colonel  Lee,  of  the  United  States 
Army,  to  Major-General  Lee,  of  the  Virginia  forces,  had 
been  burned  behind  him.  He  was  enlisted  for  the  war. 
In  the  prime  of  manhood  and  physical  vigor  he  held  what 
he  considered  the  greatest  honor — his  State's  highest  com 
mission.  He  had  sacrificed  exalted  rank,  home,  and  for 
tune,  and  had  followed  only  the  conscientious  voice  of 
duty.  The  words  of  his  own  father  were  ringing  in  his 
ears  as  he  once  exclaimed,  "  No  consideration  on  earth 
could  induce  me  to  act  a  part,  however  gratifying,  which 
could  be  construed  into  a  disregard  or  forgetfulness  of 
this  Commonwealth."  Therefore  he  would  not  join  the 
confederacy  of  States,  but  was  waiting  for  the  endorsation 
by  the  people  of  Virginia  of  the  action  of  her  representa 
tives  duly  assembled  in  convention.  One  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  votes  were  cast  for  the  ratification  of 
the  Ordinance  ot  Secession,  some  twenty  thousand  against 
it.  Before  this  popular  decision  was  reached,  the  con- 


WAR. 


93 


vention  gave  to  the  Confederate  Government  the  con 
trol  of  the  military  operations  within  her  border,  and 
the  Secretary  of  War,  Mr.  L.  P.  Walker,  had,  by  an  order 
dated  Montgomery,  Ala.,  in  May,  1861,  placed  under 
General  Lee's  command  all  troops  of  the  Confederate 
States  as  soon  as  they  arrived  in  Virginia.  Previous  to 
this,  his  command  was  limited  to  the  Virginia  forces. 
Virginia  having  united  her  fortune  with  her  Southern  sis 
ter  States,  the  Confederate  Congress  in  session  at  Mont 
gomery  ten  days  afterward  adjourned  to  meet  in  Rich 
mond,  Va.  A  letter  from  General  Lee  to  his  wife,  who 
was  still  at  Arlington,  April  30,  1861,  tells  her  that  he 
is  "glad  to  hear  all  is  well  and  as  yet  peaceful.  I  fear 
the  latter  state  will  not  continue  long.  I  think,  there 
fore,  you  had  better  prepare  all  things  for  removal  from 
Arlington  —  that  is,  plate,  pictures,  etc.,  and  be  pre 
pared  at  any  moment.  Where  to  go  is  the  difficulty. 
When  the  war  commences  no  place  will  be  exempt ;  in 
my  opinion,  indeed,  all  the  avenues  into  the  State  will  be 
the  scene  of  military  operations.  I  wrote  to  Robert  [his 
son]  that  I  could  not  consent  to  take  boys  from  their 
schools  and  young  men  from  their  colleges  and  put  them 
in  the  ranks  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  when  they  are 
not  needed.  The  war  may  last  ten  years.  \Vhere  are 
our  ranks  to  be  filled  from  then?" 

And  again  he  writes :  "  I  am  very  anxious  about 
you.  You  have  to  move,  and  make  arrangements  to  go 
to  some  point  of  safety  which  you  must  select.  The 
Mount  Vernon  plate  and  pictures  ought  to  be  secured. 
War  is  inevitable,  and  there  is  no  telling  when  it  will 
burst  around  you.  Virginia  yesterday,  I  understand, 
joined  the  Confederate  States.  What  policy  they  may 
adopt  I  can  not  conjecture."  And  Mrs.  Lee,  from  Arling 
ton,  May  5,  1861,  sent  the  following  note  to  General  Scott 
in  Washington : 

MY  DEAR  GENERAL:  Hearing  that  you  desire  to  see  the 
account  of  my  husband's  reception  in  Richmond,  I  have  sent  it 
to  you.  No  honors  can  reconcile  us  to  this  fratricidal  war  which 
we  would  have  laid  down  our  lives  freely  to  avert.  Whatever 
may  happen,  I  feel  that  I  may  expect  from  your  kindness  all  the 
protection  you  can  in  honor  afford.  Nothing  can  ever  make  me 
forget  your  kind  appreciation  of  Mr.  Lee.  If  you  knew  all  you 


94 


GENERAL   LEE. 


would  not  think  so  hardly  ot  me.  Were  it  not  that  I  would  not 
add  one  feather  to  his  load  of  care,  nothing  would  induce  me  to 
abandon  my  home.  Oh,  that  you  could  command  peace  to  our 
distracted  country  !  Yours  in  sadness  and  sorrow, 

M.  C.  LEE. 

Occasionally  this  wife  and  mother's  heart  would  beat 
with  happiness  at  the  stories  of  successful  compromise 
between  the  sections  and  then  sink  in  despair  at  the 
continued  prospects  of  war.  From  Richmond,  May 
13,  1861,  her  husband  wrote  her:  "Do  not  put  faith  in 
rumors  of  adjustment.  I  see  no  prospect  for  it.  It  can 
not  be  while  passions  on  both  sides  are  so  infuriated. 
Make  your  plans  for  several  years  of  war.  If  Virginia 
is  invaded,  which  appears  to  be  designed,  the  main 
routes  through  the  country  will,  in  all  probability,  be 
infested  and  passage  interrupted.  I  agree  with  you  in 
thinking  that  the  inflammatory  articles  in  the  papers  do 
us  much  harm.  I  object  particularly  to  those  in  the 
Southern  papers,  as  I  wish  them  to  take  a  firm,  dignified 
course,  free  from  bravado  and  boasting.  The  times 
are  indeed  calamitous.  The  brightness  of  God's  coun 
tenance  seems  turned  from  us,  and  its  mercy  stopped  in 
its  blissful  current.  It  may  not  always  be  so  dark,  and 
he  may  in  time  pardon  our  sins  and  take  us  under  his 
protection.  Tell  Custis*  he  must  consult  his  own  judg 
ment,  reason,  and  conscience  as  to  the  course  he  may 
take.  I  do  not  wish  him  to  be  guided  by  my  wishes  or 
example.  If  I  have  done  wrong,  let  him  do  better. 
The  present  is  a  momentous  question  which  every  man 
must  settle  for  himself  and  upon  principle.  Our  good 
Bishop  Meade  has  just  come  in  to  see  me.  He  opens 
the  convention  to  morrow,  and,  I  understood  him  to 
say,  would  preach  his  fiftieth  anniversary  sermon. 
God  bless  and  guard  you."  A  few  days  before  he  had 
written : 

RICHMOND,  May  8,  1861. 

I  received  yesterday  your  letter  of  the  5th.  I  grieve  at  the 
anxiety  that  drives  you  from  your  home.  I  can  appreciate  your 
feelings  on  the  occasion,  and  pray  that  you  may  receive  comfort 
and  strength  in  the  difficulties  that  surround  you.  When  I  re- 

*  His  son,  then  a  lieutenant  in  the  Engineer  Corps,  U.  S.  Army. 


WAR.  95 

fleet  upon  the  calamity  pending  over  the  country  my  own  sor 
rows  sink  into  insignificance. 

On  the  2d  of  the  same  month  he  told  her :  "  I  have 
just  received  Custis's  letter  of  the  3oth,  inclosing  the 
acceptance  of  my  resignation.  It  is  stated  it  will  take 
effect  on  the  25th  of  April.  I  resigned  on  the  2oth,  and 
wished  it  to  take  effect  on  that  day.  I  can  not  con 
sent  to  its  running  on  further,  and  he  must  receive  no 
pay  if  they  tender  it  beyond  that  day,  but  return  the 
whole  if  need  be."  And  again,  in  a  letter  May  16,  1861, 
he  writes :  "  I  witnessed  the  opening  of  the  convention 
yesterday,  and  heard  the  good  bishop's  sermon  for  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  his  ministry.  It  was  most  im 
pressive,  and  more  than  once  I  felt  the  tears  coursing 
down  my  cheeks.  It  was  from  the  text :  4  And  Pharaoh 
said  unto  Jacob,  How  old  art  thou  ? '  It  was  full  of 
humility  and  self-reproach." 

Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  the  provisional  President  of  the 
new  Government,  reached  Richmond  on  the  29th  of 
May.  Virginia's  capital  then  became  the  capital  of  the 
Confederacy.  .  The  journey  from  Alabama  by  the  South 
ern  President  was  a  triumphal  march.  At  every  station 
crowds  of  people  met  and  cheered  him,  and  on  his  arri 
val  in  Richmond  he  received  an  ovation.  He  had  gradu 
ated  at  West  Point  the  year  before  General  Lee,  but  was 
one  year  and  a  half  his  junior  in  age.  He  had  served 
in  the  infantry,  and  later  in  the  dragoons  in  the  United 
States  Army,  and  then  resigned  his  commission.  When 
the  Mexican  War  broke  out  his  soldierly  instincts  could 
not  be  repressed.  His  services  were  greatly  demanded, 
and  he  entered  Mexico  as  the  colonel  of  a  Mississippi 
regiment.  He  had  also  held  the  highest  positions  in 
civil  life,  as  a  member  of  the  United  States  House  of 
Representatives,  as  a  Senator  of  the  United  States,  and 
Secretary  of  War  in  Mr.  Pierce's  Cabinet.  Distin 
guished  in  war  and  in  peace,  a  statesman  and  a  soldier, 
he  combined  in  his  person  the  qualities  necessary  for 
the  head  of  a  new  government  born  amid  the  throes  of 
war,  whose  cradle  had  been  lighted  by  the  rifle's  flash. 
No  stain  had  ever  been  found  on  the  polished  armor  of 
his  career  during  a  long  term  of  public  service.  His 
courage  could  not  be  assailed,  his  honor  questioned,  or 


96  GENERAL   LEE. 

his  ability  denied.  He  had  been  made  on  the  secession 
of  Mississippi  commander  in  chief  of  her  forces,  just  as 
General  Lee  had  been  commissioned  in  the  Virginia 
forces.  Had  he  consulted  his  own  wishes  he  would 
have  respectfully  declined  the  position  of  President,  and 
upon  the  pages  of  history,  from  1861  to  1865,  might 
have  been  found  the  record  of  his  deeds  as  an  army 
commander. 

The  role  assigned  to  him  in  the  tragedy  of  war  was  a 
most  difficult  one  to  discharge,  and  in  the  eyes  of  his 
opponents  he  was  "  the  villain  of  the  play."  When  the 
red  curtain  of  war  rolled  up  from  the  American  stage, 
to  the  world  were  revealed  two  presidential  chairs.  In 
one  was  seated  Mr.  Abraham  Lincoln,  in  the  other 
Mr.  Jefferson  Davis.  These  two  chief  magistrates  were 
both  born  in  Kentucky.  One,  when  a  small  child,  was 
carried  by  his  parents  to  Mississippi ;  the  other,  when 
about  eight  years  old,  was  taken  to  Indiana,  and  after 
ward  to  Illinois.  Each  absorbed  the  political  theories 
of  their  respective  States.  Had  Davis  been  carried  to 
Illinois  and  Lincoln  to  Mississippi,  in  the  war  between 
the  States  Lincoln  might  have  been  carrying  a  Missis 
sippi  rifle,  while  Davis  held  aloft  the  star-spangled  ban 
ner.  Each  represented,  as  powerful  exponents,  the  con 
structions  of  the  Constitution,  referred  to  the  sword  for 
decision,  there  being  no  common  arbiter  in  such  case. 
Mr.  Davis's  office  had  none  of  the  elements  of  popularity. 
Upon  it  was  showered  the  criticisms  of  the  South,  while 
at  the  North  every  finger,  every  pen,  every  gun  was 
pointed  at  its  occupant.  Davis  used  every  possible  effort 
to  make  two  republics  grow  on  this  continent  where 
only  one  grew  before ;  and  so  likewise  did  Lee. 

The  former,  as  President,  could  not  have  written  suc 
cess  on  the  standards  of  the  Confederacy  ;  it  was  not  so 
ordained — the  contest  was  too  unequal  in  men,  money, 
and  means  of  war.  The  people  of  the  whole  South,  who 
stood  behind  their  guns,  or  were  left  at  their  hearth 
stones,  numbered  only  six  million  whites,  while  the  pop 
ulation  in  the  Northern  States  amounted  to  eighteen 
million.  The  former  were  animated  by  the  tie  which 
binds  the  heart  to  home,  and  which  it  is  said  "  stretches 
from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  spans  the  heavens,  and 


WAR. 


97 


is  riveted  through  eternity  to  the  throne  of  God  on 
high."  On  the  other  hand,  the  Northern  people  de 
sired  to  see  the  great  republic  stretch  from  the  waves 
of  the  Atlantic  to  the  golden  sands  of  the  Pacific,  and 
from  the  Northern  lakes  to  where  the  Father  of  Wa 
ters  rolls  his  tribute  to  the  Gulf  as  an  undivided  coun 
try.  The  North  was  thickly  populated,  and  the  whole 
machinery  of  its  Government  was  in  running  order. 
It  had  its  regular  army  around  which  the  volunteer 
regiments  could  rally.  Its  navy  rode  undisputed  the 
adjoining  seas ;  its  arsenals  and  forts  were  crammed 
with  weapons,  and  its  Treasury  filled  with  precious 
metals,  out  of  which  could  be  manufactured  all  the 
sinews  of  war.  In  a  long  struggle,  under  these  circum 
stances,  victory  was  to  the  strong.  The  deeds  of  a  brave 
soldier,  even  if  unsuccessful,  excite  the  admiration  of 
mankind.  The  civil  ruler  of  the  vanquished  is  not  so 
fortunate  when  the  power  to  sustain  his  government  de 
parts.  Mr.  Davis  was  not  the  demon  of  hate  his  ene 
mies  have  painted.  He  did  not  thirst  for  the  blood  of 
his  countrymen.  His  whole  character  has  been  misun 
derstood  by  the  mass  of  the  people  who  opposed  his 
public  views.  His  heart  was  tender  as  a  woman's  ;  he 
was  brave  as  a  lion,  and  true  as  the  needle  to  the  pole 
to  his  convictions ;  in  disposition  generous,  in  character 
courteous  and  chivalric. 

When  his  voice  was  heard  for  the  last  time  in  the 
Senate  Chamber  of  the  United  States  it  did  not  breathe 
hatred  to  sections  of  the  country  other  than  his  own. 
but  he  spoke  in  affectionate  terms  of  those  with  whom 
he  had  to  conscientiously  differ  upon  great  questions. 
"  I  am  sure,"  said  he,  "  that  I  feel  no  hostility  to  you 
Senators  from  the  North.  I  am  sure  there  is  not  one 
of  you,  whatever  sharp  discussion  there  may  have  been 
between  us,  to  whom  I  can  not  say  in  the  presence  of 
my  God,  I  wish  you  well,  and  such  is  the  feeling,  I  am 
sure,  of  the  people  whom  I  represent  and  those  whom 
you  represent.  For  whatever  offense  I  have  given,  I 
have,  Senators,  in  this  hour  of  our  parting,  to  offer  you 
my  apology." 

General  Lee  found  himself  surrounded  on  all  sides 
by  war.  From  Richmond,  June  9,  1861,  he  wiote  his 


98 


GENERAL    LEE. 


wife  :  "  You  may  be  aware  that  the  Confederate  Govern 
ment  is  established  here.  Yesterday  I  turned  over  to  it 
the  command  of  the  military  and  naval  forces  of  the 
State,  in  accordance  with  the  proclamation  of  the  Gov 
ernor,  under  an  agreement  between  the  State  and  the 
Confederate  States.  I  do  not  know  what  my  position 
will  be.  I  should  like  to  retire  to  private  life,  so  that  I 
could  be  with  you  and  the  children,  but  if  I  can  be  of 
service  to  the  State  or  her  cause,  I  must  continue.  Mr. 
Davis  and  all  his  Cabinet  are  here."  And  two  days 
afterward  he  tells  her  :  "  I  am  sorry  to  learn  that  you  are 
anxious  and  uneasy  about  passing  events.  We  can  not 
change  or  hinder  them,  and  it  is  not  the  part  of  wis 
dom  to  be  annoyed  by  them.  In  this  time  of  great  suf 
fering  to  the  State  and  country,  our  private  distresses 
we  must  bear  with  resignation,  and  not  aggravate  them 
by  repining,  trusting  to  a  kind  and  merciful  God  to 
overrule  them  for  our  good." 

Preparations  were  now  being  rapidly  made  for  war, 
which  could  be  no  longer  prevented  or  postponed.  The 
firing  upon  and  capture  of  Fort  Sumter,  the  hostile  re 
ception  given  the  Massachusetts  troops  in  Baltimore  on 
April  ipth,  the  great  excitement  all  through  the  country, 
caused  every  one  to  speedily  join  the  side  he  desired  to 
unite  with.  In  the  North  every  arsenal  was  put  to  work 
on  the  manufacture  of  arms  for  their  troops.  It  was  the 
first  duty  of  the  Federal  Government  to  make  Washing 
ton,  the  capital,  secure.  Then  an  army  of  invasion  must 
be  organized  and  a  plan  of  campaign  mapped  out,  whose 
objective  point  was  the  capture  of  Richmond,  the  capi 
tal  of  the  Southern  Confederacy. 


CHAPTER   V. 

INVASION    OF    VIRGINIA. 

ON  the  24th  of  May  the  advance  guard  of  the  Fed 
eral  army  occupied  the  heights  of  Washington,  with 
Arlington,  the  former  home  of  General  Lee,  as  head 
quarters,  as  well  as  all  the  country  stretching  down  the 
Potomac  eight  miles  below  to  Alexandria.  Only  a  few 
persons  understood  the  magnitude  of  the  impending 
contest.  The  "  Rebellion  "  many  thought  was  to  be 
crushed  in  ninety  days,  and  most  of  the  volunteer  troops 
were  enlisted  by  the  North  for  that  period. 

One  hundred  and  fifteen  miles  away,  at  Richmond, 
great  activity  prevailed  also.  The  sagacity,  skill,  and 
experience  of  Lee  were  taxed  to  the  uttermost  equip 
ping  and  sending  to  threatened  points  the  troops  rapidly 
arriving  from  the  South.  There  was  no  regular  army  to 
serve  as  a  nucleus,  or  navy,  commissary,  quartermaster's, 
or  ordnance  departments.  Everything  had  to  be  pro 
vided.  General  Gorgas,  the  Chief  of  Ordnance  of  the 
Confederate  States,  reported  that  he  found  in  all  the 
arsenals  of  the  Confederate  States  but  fifteen  thousand 
rifles  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  inferior 
muskets.  In  addition  there  were  a  few  old  flint  mus 
kets  at  Richmond,  and  some  Hall's  rifles  and  carbines 
at  Baton  Rouge.  There  was  no  powder,  except  some 
which  had  been  left  over  from  the  Mexican  War  and 
had  been  stored  at  Baton  Rouge  Arsenal  and  at  Mount 
Vernon,  Ala.  There  was  but  little  artillery,  and  no 
cavalry,  arms,  or  equipments.  Raw  recruits  had  to  be 
drilled  and  disciplined,  companies  assigned  to  regiments, 
regiments  to  brigades,  brigades  to  divisions.  With  the 
map  of  Virginia  before  him,  Lee  studied  to  make  a  suc 
cessful  defensive  campaign.  He  knew  that  the  abject 

(99) 


100  GENERAL   LEE. 

of  the  greatest  importance  to  his  enemy  was  the  capture 
of  Richmond,  and  that  the  fall  of  that  city  early  in  the 
contest  might  terminate  the  war.  His  genius  for  grand 
tactics  and  strategy  taught  him  at  once  that  the  most 
natural  advance  to  Richmond  from  Washington  would 
be  along  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad,  as  it  was 
called  then.  It  was  the  only  railway  running  into  the 
State  at  that  time  from  Washington,  and  troops  moving 
along  its  line  could  be  so  directed  as  not  to  uncover 
their  capital,  while  prompt  facilities  could  be  obtained 
for  transportation  of  supplies  from  the  base  established 
at  Alexandria  or  Washington.  Another  route  lay  up 
the  peninsula  lying  between  the  James  and  York  Rivers, 
with  Fort  Monroe  and  its  vicinity  as  a  base  for  opera 
tions.  Another  way  to  enter  the  State  was  by  crossing 
the  upper  Potomac  at  Harper's  Ferry  and  Williamsport, 
and  then  on  through  the  great  valley  of  Virginia  be 
tween  the  Blue  Ridge  and  Shenandoah  Mountains ;  and 
still  another  entrance  might  be  effected  through  the 
mountain  ranges  of  West  Virginia.  Norfolk,  too,  by 
the  sea,  had  to  be  watched  and  protected.  Troops, 
therefore,  as  fast  as  they  arrived  in  Richmond  and 
could  be  prepared  for  the  campaign,  were  sent  princi 
pally  to  these  points.  It  was  necessary  that  organized 
forces  should  be  in  such  position  as  to  check  any  for 
ward  movements  by  any  of  these  routes.  General  Lee 
early  had  predicted  the  march  of  the  Army  of  the  Poto 
mac,  as  the  Washington  army  was  called,  and  pointed  out 
what  would  in  all  probability  be  the  battlefield.  He 
ordered  the  largest  number  of  troops  to  Manassas  Junc 
tion,  that  being  the  point  of  union  of  the  railroad  com 
ing  into  Virginia  from  Washington  with  a  branch  road 
leading  into  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  It  was  a  strategic 
point,  because  an  army  in  position  there  would  be  able 
to  resist  the  further  progress  of  the  opposing  hosts, 
and  could,  if  necessary,  re-enforce  the  troops  in  the 
valley.  Competent  and  experienced  officers  were  at 
an  early  date  placed  in  command  of  the  important 
stations.  For  Manassas,  General  P.  G.  T.  Beauregard 
was  selected.  This  officer,  having  been  the  first  em 
ployed  in  active  operations,  and  having  compelled  the 
surrender  of  Fort  Sumter,  was  the  military  hero  of  the 


INVASION   OF, VIRGINIA, ^^  ,J(  ^  , 

hour.  He  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point,  and  had  served 
in  the  Engineer  Corps  with  marked  distinction.  His  skill 
in  that  branch  of  the  service  was  admirably  displayed 
in  the  selection  of  positions  for  the  batteries  erected 
to  defend  Charleston  Harbor,  and  his  vigilance,  ac 
tivity,  and  military  knowledge  were  rewarded  by  the 
prompt  reduction  of  the  fort.  He  assumed  command 
of  the  troops  at  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Manassas  about 
the  ist  of  June,  and  possessed  the  entire  confidence  of 
his  army. 

Harper's  Ferry  received  also  the  prompt  attention  of 
the  Confederate  authorities.  To  this  important  post 
General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  was  ordered,  superseding 
in  the  command  there  Colonel  T.  J.  Jackson.  General 
Johnston  assumed  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Shenan- 
doah  on  May  23,  1861.  He  was  a  classmate  of  Lee's  at 
West  Point.  On  being  graduated  he  was  assigned  to 
the  artillery,  and  then  to  the  topographical  engineers. 
He  became  distinguished  before  his  beard  grew.  In 
the  Indian  wars  in  Florida  and  in  Mexico  his  coolness, 
address,  soldierly  bearing,  daring  deeds,  and  his  many 
wounds  made  -him  famous.  General  Scott  is  reported 
to  have  said  "Johnston  is  a  great  soldier,  but  was  un 
fortunate  enough  to  get  shot  in  nearly  every  engage 
ment."  In  1861  he  was  at  the  head  of  the  Quarter 
master's  Department  of  the  United  States  Army,  with 
the  rank  of  brigadier  general.  Upon  the  resignation  of 
his  commission  he  was  commissioned  a  general  officer  in 
the  Virginia  service  by  Governor  Letcher.  Later  he 
was  given  a  brigadier  general's  commission  in  the  Con 
federate  service  in  the  regular  army,  then  the  highest 
grade  in  it.  The  resignation  of  his  commission  and  his 
decision  to  fight  under  the  flag  of  the  South  was  hailed 
with  delight  by  the  Southern  people,  who  felt  they  were 
securing  the  services  of  an  army  commander  of  un 
doubted  merit.  General  Benjamin  Huger,  another  dis 
tinguished  officer  of  the  army  of  the  United  States, 
who  had  also  resigned,  was  charged  with  watching 
over  Norfolk.  General  John  Bankhead  Magruder,  who 
had  acquired  distinction  in  the  Federal  army  but  had 
joined  his  fortunes  to  the  South,  was  ordered  to  York- 
town  to  defend  the  peninsular  route.  General  Holmes, 
8 


102  GENERAL   LEE. 

who  had  rend'ered  conspicuous  service  in  the  army  of 
the  United  States,  was  sent  to  command  at  Acquia 
Creek,  some  twelve  miles  east  of  Fredericksburg.  Rob 
ert  Garnett,  also  an  officer  of  the  United  States  Army, 
of  tested  ability,  was  ordered  to  West  Virginia  to  take 
charge  of  the  department  and  of  the  forces  assembling 
in  that  region.  All  of  these  officers  had  been  selected 
with  great  care,  and  had  been  more  or  less  distinguished 
in  the  army,  but  not  one  of  them  had  ever  before  been 
in  command  of  large  numbers  of  men. 

The  regular  army  of  the  United  States  previous  to 
1861  was  a  small  organization  of  fifteen  thousand  sol 
diers.  Including  the  quartermaster  general,  there  were 
only  five  general  officers  in  it — Scott,  Wool,  Harney, 
Twiggs,  and  Joe  Johnston.  A  few  only  of  the  officers, 
to  whom  was  assigned  on  either  side  the  command  of 
armies,  corps,  and  divisions,  had  ever  previous  to  the 
war  commanded  a  regiment,  the  great  majority  of  them 
not  more  than  one  company. 

In  these  operations  of  defense  General  Lee's  whole 
time  was  employed.  The  larger  number  of  troops  were 
sent  to  Beauregard  and  Johnston,  it  being  evident  that 
one  or  both  of  the  points  occupied  by  their  armies  would 
be  the  scene  of  the  earliest  conflicts.  His  services  were 
great  and  indispensable,  but  it  can  be  readily  seen  that 
after  supplying  the  threatened  points  with  troops,  and 
after  providing  commanding  officers  for  the  different 
armies  when  the  battles  of  the  war  began,  there  would 
be  no  place  for  him  in  the  field,  but  that  the  active  op 
erations  there  would  be  intrusted  to  others  at  first. 

To  Mrs.  Lee,  from  Richmond,  June  24,  1861,  he 
wrote  :  "  My  movements  are  very  uncertain,  and  I  wish 
to  take  the  field  as  soon  as  certain  arrangements  can  be 
made.  I  may  go  at  any  moment  to  any  point  where  it 
may  be  necessary.  Custis  is  engaged  on  the  works 
around  this  city,  and  many  of  our  old  friends  are  drop 
ping  in.  E.  P.  Alexander  is  here.  Jimmy  Hill,  Alston, 
Jenifer,  etc.,  and  I  hear  that  my  old  colonel,  A.  S.  John 
ston,  is  crossing  the  plains  from  California." 

Preparations  for  the  advance  of  the  Federal  army 
of  the  Potomac  on  Manassas  were  rapidly  nearing  com 
pletion.  Everything  needed  was  bountifully  provided 


INVASION   OF   VIRGINIA.  103 

from  an  overflowing  Treasury.  General  Scott  was  still 
Commander  in  Chief  of  the  United  States  Army,  and 
still  the  possessor  of  the  entire  confidence  of  his  coun 
try.  Mr.  Simon  Cameron,  Mr.  Lincoln's  Secretary  of  War, 
wrote  to  Mr.  John  Sherman,  then  in  the  field  as  a  volun 
teer  aid-de-camp  to  General  Patterson,  that  the  whole 
administration  has  but  one  safe  course  in  this  emergency, 
and  that  is  to  be  guided  by  the  counsels  of  the  general 
in  chief  in  all  that  relates  to  the  plans,  movements,  and 
commands  of  the  campaign.  He  has  superior  knowl 
edge,  wisdom,  and  patriotism  over  any  other  member 
of  the  administration,  said  Cameron,  and  enjoys  the  un 
limited  confidence  of  the  people,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
President  and  his  advisers. 

The  day  after  General  Scott's  last  interview  with 
General  Lee  he  published  General  Order  No.  3,  which 
created  the  Department  of  Washington,  embracing 
Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  and  the  District 
of  Columbia,  and  Major-General  Robert  Patterson,  of 
Pennsylvania,  was  placed  in  command.  On  June  3, 
1861,  the  headquarters  of  this  officer  were  at  Chambers- 
burg,  Pa.,  where  he  was  busy  organizing  and  equipping 
the  army  whose  objective  point  was  Harper's  Ferry,  at 
that  time  occupied  by  a  small  number  of  the  Southern 
troops.  It  was  General  Scott's  original  plan  to  make 
Patterson  fight  the  first  great  battle  in  the  war,  giving 
him  all  the  troops  he  could  possibly  spare  from  the  de 
fense  of  Washington.  It  was  his  first  purpose  to  make 
a  feint  on  Beauregard  at  Manassas,  while  making  a  real 
attack  upon  Joe  Johnston  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia. 
With  the  defeat  of  Johnston  the  victorious  army  could 
march  on  Beauregard  at  Manassas,  re-enforced  by  the 
troops  around  the  Federal  capital.  Soldiers  of  high 
reputation  and  great  merit  were  ordered  to  report  to 
Patterson.  Fitz  John  Porter  was  his  adjutant  general, 
Amos  Beckwith  commissary  of  subsistence,  Crosman 
quartermaster,  Sampson  topographical  engineer,  New 
ton  engineer;  while  such  men  as  A.  E.  Burnside, 
George  H.  Thomas,  Miles,  Abercrombie,  Cadwalader, 
Stone,  and  Negley  commanded  troops ;  and  then,  the 
laws  being  silent  in  the  midst  of  arms,  Senator  John 
Sherman,  of  Ohio,  was  his  aid-de-camp.  From  Patter- 
8 


104 


GENERAL   LEE. 


son's  position  two  routes  led  to  the  Valley  of  Virginia, 
one  via  Frederick,  Md.,  across  the  Potomac  at  Har 
per's  Ferry,  the  other  by  Hagerstown,  Md.,  crossing 
at  Williamsport  and  thence  to  Martinsburg.  Patterson 
wisely  selected  the  latter  route,  because  it  was  a  flank 
movement  on  his  enemy  at  Harper's  Ferry,  who  could 
present  no  obstacle  to  a  successful  passage  to  the  Poto 
mac.  He  therefore  marched  his  army  to  Hagerstown, 
where,  on  the  i5th  of  June,  he  had  ten  thousand  men. 
On  that  day  General  Johnston  evacuated  Harper's  Ferry, 
and  two  days  later,  with  a  force  of  sixty-five  hundred 
men,  was  at  Bunker  Hill,  a  point  twelve  miles  from 
Winchester  and  between  that  city  and  Martinsburg. 

This  was  wise  on  the  part  of  Johnston.  His  inten 
tion  to  do  so  was  accelerated  from  a  well-authen 
ticated  rumor  that  had  reached  him  of  the  advance 
of  the  Federal  forces  in  the  direction  of  Winchester 
from  Romney,  some  forty  -  three  miles  west  of  that 
place.  Indeed,  he  had  detached  two  regiments  under 
Colonels  A.  P.  Hill  and  Gibbons,  and  sent  them  to 
Winchester  with  orders  to  proceed  out  on  the  road 
toward  Romney  for  the  purpose  of  checking  any 
march  of  hostile  troops  from  that  direction.  These 
troops  were  thought  to  be  the  advance  of  a  force  under 
General  McClellan,  which  had  been  organized  in  that 
section  of  western  Virginia.  When  Patterson  crossed 
the  Potomac  Johnston  very  properly  moved  to  Bunker 
Hill,  so  as  to  be  in  position  to  prevent  the  junction  of 
McClellan  and  Patterson,  by  fighting  a  battle  with  Pat 
terson  before  McClellan  could  reach  Winchester,  if  in 
deed  the  force  reported  to  be  advancing  from  the  direc 
tion  of  Romney  were  McClellan's  troops.  He  soon 
became  convinced  that  no  considerable  body  of  United 
States  troops  was  approaching  Winchester  from  the 
direction  of  Romney,  and  so  the  two  regiments  sent 
there  were  recalled  to  Winchester.  If  the  action  of 
Johnston  had  not  been  guided  by  the  reports  received, 
he  would  have  evacuated  Harper's  Ferry  at  once  upon 
the  passage  of  the  Potomac  by  Patterson.  Harper's 
Ferry  was  not  a  defensible  point.  It  was  a  cul-de-sac 
commanded  thoroughly  by  Maryland  Heights.  Later 
in  the  war  a  large  force  of  Federal  troops  was  easily 


INVASION   OF  VIRGINIA. 


105 


forced  to  capitulate  by  a  portion  of  the  Confederate 
army  approaching  from  the  direction  of  Maryland. 

Patterson  commenced  to  cross  the  Potomac  with  the 
avowed  purpose  of  fighting  a  battle  with  the  army  under 
Johnston,  but  when  about  two  thirds  of  his  troops  had 
crossed  he  received  a  telegram  from  General  Scott  order 
ing  him  to  send  to  Washington  at  once  all  the  regular 
troops  he  had,  horse  and  foot,  as  well  as  the  Rhode 
Island  regiment  under  Burnside,  which  was  a  very  fine 
one.  If  this  telegram  had  not  been  received,  and  Pat 
terson  had  continued  the  march  of  his  troops  into  Vir 
ginia,  he  would  have  reached  Martinsburg  on  the  lyth 
of  June,  and  on  the  i8th  could  have  attacked  the  Con 
federate  troops  then  in  line  of  battle  awaiting  him  at 
Bunker  Hill,  eleven  miles  distant,  and  there  might  have 
been  on  the  pages  of  American  history  a  second  battle 
of  that  name.  The  explanation  of  General  Scott's  tele 
gram  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  he  had  changed  his 
plan  of  offensive  operations.  He  had  reversed  his  for 
mer  purposes  and  now  proposed  to  fight  the  first  battle 
with  the  army  -around  Washington,  while  the  army  of 
Patterson  should  make  the  feint,  to  prevent  a  junction 
of  Johnston's  army  with  that  of  Beauregard's  at  Ma- 
nassas.  General  Sanford,  who  commanded  the  State 
troops  of  New  York,  was  the  senior  officer  at  that  time 
on  duty  in  Washington ;  and  at  two  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  May  21,  1861,  with  eleven  thousand  men 
first  invaded  Virginia  and  took  possession  of  Arlington 
Heights  and  the  adjacent  section  as  far  as  Alexandria. 
The  Department  of  Virginia  was  created,  and  General 
Irvin  McDowell  was  selected  by  the  Washington  Cabi 
net  to  command  it. 

Up  to  that  time  it  is  said  General  Scott  did  not 
want  anything  done  on  the  Virginia  side  of  the  Poto 
mac  except  to  fortify  Arlington  Heights.  He  was 
"  piqued  and  irritated "  that  the  Cabinet  should  have 
sent  McDowell  into  Virginia,  and  sent  him  two  messages 
by  his  aid-de-camp  asking  him  to  make  a  personal  re 
quest  not  to  be  sent  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and 
took  occasion  to  say  to  the  Cabinet  that  he  was  never 
in  favor  of  going  over  into  Virginia.  He  did  not  be 
lieve  in  a  little  war  by  piecemeal,  but  he  believed  in  a 


IO6  GENERAL  LEE. 

war  of  large  bodies.  He  was  in  favor  of  moving  down 
the  Mississippi  River  with  eighty  thousand  men,  fight  all 
the  battles  that  were  necessary,  take  all  the  positions 
he  could  find  and  garrison  them,  fight  a  battle  at  New 
Orleans,  win  it,  and  thus  end  the  war.  His  marvelous 
plan  met  with  serious  objections  from  the  powers  at 
Washington.  Could  it  have  been  submitted  to  those  in 
Richmond  it  would  have  been  unanimously  adopted. 

Irvin  McDowell,  the  commander  selected  to  lead  the 
Federal  army  against  its  opponent  at  Manassas,  was  a 
native  of  Ohio,  and  graduated  at  the  Military  Academy 
at  West  Point  in  1838.  He  was  assigned  to  the  First 
Artillery,  served  in  the  Mexican  War,  and  was  brevetted 
major  for  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  at  Buena 
Vista.  He  was  afterward  transferred  to  the  Adjutant 
General's  Department,  and  served  there  till  he  was 
promoted  brigadier  general  in  1861.  At  this  period 
McDowell  was  about  forty-three  years  of  age,  a  capable 
soldier,  and  a  gallant  and  courteous  gentleman.  He 
was  kind-hearted,  considerate,  and  tender  of  the  feel 
ings  of  others.  His  letter  to  Mrs.  Lee,  in  reply  to  one 
received  from  her,  addressed  to  the  commander  of  the 
Federal  forces  at  Arlington,  has  the  ring  of  the  pure 
metal,  and  is  as  follows : 

HEADQUARTERS,  DEPARTMENTS  NORTHEASTERN  VIRGINIA, 

ARLINGTON,  May  30,  1861. 
Mrs.  R.  E.  Lee. 

MADAM  :  Having  been  ordered  by  the  Government  to  relieve 
Major-General  Sanford  in  command  of  this  Department,  I  had 
the  honor  to  receive  this  morning  your  letter  of  to-day  addressed 
to  him  at  this  place.  With  respect  to  the  occupation  of  Arlington 
by  the  United  States  troops  I  beg  to  say  it  has  been  done  by  my 
predecessor  with  every  regard  for  the  preservation  of  the  place. 
I  am  here  temporarily  in  camp  on  the  grounds,  preferring  this  to 
sleeping  in  the  house  under  the  circumstances  which  the  painful 
state  of  the  country  places  me  with  respect  to  these  properties. 
I  assure  you  it  will  be  my  earnest  endeavor  to  have  all  things  so 
ordered  that  on  your  return  you  will  find  things  as  little  dis* 
turbed  as  possible.  In  this  I  have  the  hearty  concurrence  of  the 
courteous,  kind-hearted  gentleman  in  the  immediate  command 
of  the  troops  quartered  here,  and  who  lives  in  the  lower  part 
of  the  house  to  insure  its  being  respected.  Everything  has  been 
done  as  you  desire  with  respect  to  your  servants,  and  your  wishes, 
so  far  as  they  have  been  known  or  could  have  been  understood, 


INVASION  OF  VIRGINIA.  IO/ 

have  been  complied  with.  When  you  desire  to  return  every 
facility  will  be  given  you  for  doing  so.  I  trust,  Madam,  you  will 
not  consider  it  an  intrusion  when  I  say  I  have  the  most  sincere 
sympathy  for  your  distress,  and,  so  far  as  compatible  with  my 
duty,  1  shall  always  be  ready  to  do  whatever  may  alleviate  it.  I 
have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

Your  most  obedient  servant,  I.  MCDOWELL. 

P.  S. — I  am  informed  it  was  the  order  of  the  general  in  chief 
if  the  troops  on  coming  here  should  have  found  the  family  in  the 
house,  that  no  one  should  enter  it,  but  that  a  guard  should  be 
placed  for  its  protection. 

Generals  Scott  and  Lee  were  organizing  their  re 
spective  armies  with  the  same  celerity  apparently,  for 
on  the  24th  of  June  McDowell  had  twenty  regiments  of 
infantry,  aggregating  less  than  fourteen  thousand  men, 
two  hundred  and  fifty  cavalry,  two  batteries  of  light  artil 
lery,  and  three  other  batteries  in  the  earthworks.  His 
field  return,  dated  June  26th,  makes  his  aggregate  forces 
sixteen  thousand  six  hundred  and  eleven.  At  that  time 
the  Confederate  army,  under  Beauregard,  had  nineteen 
regiments  of  infantry.  The  Federal  commander  esti 
mated  Beauregard's  force  at  twenty  thousand,  and  a 
statement  upon  which  he  said  he  relied,  told  him  that 
the  South  Carolina  regiments  were  the  best  armed  and 
equipped,  had  negroes  with  them  as  servants,  were  in 
high  spirits,  and  though  the  month  was  June,  were  freez 
ing  for  a  fight. 

It  was  fully  determined  now  that  the  Federal  army 
should  move  against  Manassas,  and  General  McDowell 
was  requested  to  submit  a  plan  of  operations  and  an 
estimate  of  the  force  necessary  to  carry  it  out.  He 
did  so,  and  the  plan  was  approved  by  General  Scott,  the 
Cabinet,  and  Generals  Sanford,  Tyler,  Mansfield,  and 
Meigs,  who  were  present.  It  was  then  given  to  the  en 
gineer  officers  to  discuss,  and  finally  was  fully  adopted. 
The  Federal  army  was  to  move  out  from  the  vicinity 
of  Washington  and  Alexandria  in  four  columns  and 
give  battle  to  the  enemy  by  turning  their  right  flank. 
McDowell  exacted  two  conditions :  One  that  he  should 
be  provided  with  thirty  thousand  troops ;  the  other  that 
he  should  not  be  required  to  fight  any  of  the  Confed 
erate  forces  then  opposed  to  General  Patterson  in  the 
Valley  of  Virginia.  The  first  condition  was  pledged, 


108  GENERAL   LEE. 

and  he  was  told  by  General  Scott  that  if  Johnston 
joined  Beauregard  he  should  have  Patterson  at  his 
heels. 

General  Lee  had  worked  incessantly,  leaving  no 
stone  unturned  to  give  Beauregard  a  sufficient  force  to 
cope  successfully  with  McDowell.  He  put  away  per 
sonal  ambition,  and  had  no  thought  except  to  do  all  in 
his  power  to  enable  others  to  win  victories.  From  Rich 
mond,  July  12,  1861,  he  wrote  Mrs.  Lee  :  "  You  know  that 
Rob  has  been  made  captain  of  Company  A  of  the  Uni 
versity.  He  has  written  for  a  sword  and  sash,  which  I 
have  not  yet  been  able  to  get  for  him.  I  shall  send  him 
a  sword  of  mine,  but  can  not  procure  him  a  sash.  I  am 
very  anxious  to  get  into  the  field,  but  am  detained  by 
matters  beyond  my  control.  I  have  never  heard  of  the 
assignment  to  which  you  allude — of  commander  in  chief 
of  the  Southern  army — nor  have  I  any  expectation  or 
wish  for  it.  President  Davis  holds  that  position.  I  have 
been  laboring  to  prepare  and  get  into  the  field  the  Vir 
ginia  troops  to  strengthen  those  from  other  States,  and 
the  threatened  commands  of  Johnston,  Beauregard,  Hu- 
ger,  Garnett,  etc.  Where  I  shall  go  I  do  not  know,  as 
that  will  depend  upon  President  Davis." 

The  press  on  both  sides,  North  and  South  alike,  ex 
cited  by  the  probability  of  a  battle,  began  to  severely 
criticise  the  delay  in  decisive  movements.  They  did 
not  understand  that  armies  composed  almost  exclu 
sively  of  citizen  soldiers  had  to  be  organized  with  great 
care.  Regiments  had  to  be  placed  in  brigades,  and 
they  in  turn  formed  into  divisions;  ammunition,  the 
means  of  subsistence,  and  the  requisite  amount  of  trans 
portation  had  to  be  provided.  General  Lee  resisted 
public  clamor  in  his  usual  calm  and  dignified  way.  Mc 
Dowell  too,  like  a  seasoned  soldier,  stood  the  pressure 
against  him  as  long  as  he  could,  but  at  last  it  became  so 
great  he  could  wait  no  longer.  So  he  issued  General 
Order  No.  17,  dated  Arlington  Heights,  July  i6th,  which 
started  from  camp  and  put  on  the  march  thousands  of 
armed  men,  as  a  vast  engine  is  put  in  motion  by  pressure 
on  a  button.  Some  thirty  miles  away,  behind  a  small 
stream  called  Bull  Run,  Beauregard  waited  the  arrival 
of  McDowell.  The  two  army  commanders  were  class- 


INVASION   OF   VIRGINIA. 

mates  at  West  Point,  and  had  studied  and  marched  side 
by  side  for  four  years.  It  was  a  strange  sight  to  see 
them  now  manoeuvring  hostile  armies. 

The  capture  of  Washington  should  have  been  the 
legitimate  military  result  of  the  Southern  victory  at 
Manassas.  A  great  part  of  Beauregard's  army  had  not 
fired  a  gun  on  the  2ist;  the  brigades  of  Ewell,  D.  R. 
Jones,  Longstreet,  Bonham,  and  Holmes  had  been 
quietly  resting  all  day,  if  we  except  a  small  skirmish  by 
Jones.  Ewell  moved  to  the  battlefield  in  the  afternoon, 
but  was  not  engaged.  If  these  fresh  troops  had  been 
led  direct  on  Centreville  by  the  roads  crossing  the  fords 
they  were  guarding,  they  could  easily  have  reached  that 
point,  four  or  five  miles  distant,  before  the  fugitives  of 
the  Federal  army,  who  for  the  most  part  were  returning 
by  the  circuitous  route  over  which  they  marched  in  the 
morning,  and  which  was  the  only  road  they  knew.  The 
six  thousand  Federal  reserve  at  Centreville,  under 
Miles,  certainly,  in  view  of  the  demoralization  of  the  rest 
of  the  army,  could  not  have  made  a  successful  resist 
ance.  Bonham  and  Longstreet  crossed  Bull  Run  in  pur 
suit,  but  were  stopped  by  three  regiments  of  General 
Blenker's  brigade.  Three  hours  and  a  half  of  daylight 
still  remained. 

The  Confederates  had  nineteen  companies  of  cav 
alry,  McDowell  seventeen.  In  neither  army  at  that 
time  was  the  employment  of  cavalry  understood.  It 
was  not  massed,  but  distributed  around  among  the 
various  infantry  brigades  where  the  troopers  were  prin 
cipally  used  for  couriers.  If  the  whole  of  the  Southern 
cavalry  had  been  ordered  forward  under  an  enterprising 
soldier  like  Stuart,  supported  by  the  troops  that  had 
not  been  engaged,  Centreville  might  have  easily  been 
reached  that  night.  The  next  day,  while  Stuart  was 
moving  in  the  direction  of  Alexandria  and  Washington, 
with  some  of  the  freshest  infantry  as  supports,  the  head 
of  the  Confederate  army  might  have  been  turned  toward 
White's  Ford,  on  the  upper  Potomac,  some  twenty-five 
or  thirty  miles  away.  Patterson's  army  was  disintegrat 
ing  by  the  expiration  of  enlistments ;  Banks,  his  suc 
cessor,  had  at  Harper's  Ferry  about  six  thousand  men 
and  was  fearing  an  attack.  Dix,  at  Fort  McHenry  and 


1 10  GENERAL   LEE. 

Baltimore,  with  a  small  force,  was  uncomfortable  ;  and 
Butler,  at  Fort  Monroe,  was  protesting  against  Scott's 
order  to  send  to  Washington  his  Illinois  volunteers.  All 
conditions  were  favorable  to  a  march  through  Maryland 
by  the  Southern  army,  and  either  capture  the  Federal 
capital  or  occupy  the  strategic  point  at  the  junction 
of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad  with  the  Wash 
ington  and  Baltimore  Railroad  at  the  Relay  House. 
Thousands  of  Marylanders  whose  sympathies  were  with 
the  South  would  have  increased  the  numbers  of  the 
Confederate  army.  Fairfax  and  Loudoun  counties  in 
Virginia,  and  Howard  and  Montgomery  counties  in 
Maryland,  were  teeming  with  food  for  men  and  horses. 
Half  a  million  rounds  of  ammunition  for  small  arms  had 
"been  captured.  Gorgas,  chief  of  ordnance,  had  many 
rounds  also  in  Richmond,  for  on  July  i4th  General  Lee 
ordered  him  to  send  a  full  supply  to  General  Wise  in 
West  Virginia.  Besides  ammunition,  large  quantities  of 
muskets,  pistols,  knapsacks,  swords,  cannons,  blankets, 
wagons,  ambulances,  hospital  and  subsistence  stores, 
and  camp  and  garrison  equipment  were  captured. 

On  July  22,  1861,  there  were  no  troops  in  Baltimore 
with  which  any  defense  of  that  city  could  have  been 
made.  There  were  a  few  regiments  for  provost  duty,  but 
no  available  fighting  force.  Banks  was  ninety-five  miles 
from  Baltimore  by  the  nearest  road.  White's  Ford,  on 
the  Potomac,  where  Johnston  and  Beauregard  could 
have  crossed,  is  about  forty-five  miles  from  Baltimore. 
The  occupation  of  the  Relay  House  might  have  pro 
duced  the  immediate  evacuation  of  Washington  by  the 
Federals,  the  transfer  of  the  seat  of  war  to  Pennsyl 
vania,  the  accession  of  Maryland  to  the  Confederacy, 
and  fifty  thousand  more  men  as  recruits  as  fast  as  they 
could  have  been  armed,  for  Baltimore  would  have  clothed 
and  equipped  them.  Next  year,  when  the  second  battle 
of  Manassas  was  fought,  General  Lee  crossed  the  Poto 
mac  and  entered  Maryland  without  difficulty  under  much 
less  favorable  conditions.  His  inferiority  of  numbers  to 
those  of  his  antagonists  were  greater,  and  his  ammuni 
tion,  supplies,  and  transportation  less  in  proportion  to 
the  strength  of  his  army. 

The  extent  of  the  Southern  victory  was  not  known 


INVASION   OF  VIRGINIA.  Ill 

on  that  hot  afternoon  of  July  21,  1861,  because  the  pur 
suit  had  been  feeble.  Later  in  the  evening,  when  the 
Federals  were  in  full  retreat,  the  report  reached  the  Con 
federate  commanders  that  a  strong  body  of  Union  troops 
was  advancing  via  Union  Mills  on  Manassas,  and  orders 
were  issued  in  consequence  for  the  rapid  march  of  some 
troops  back  to  this  position,  infantry  being  mounted  be 
hind  cavalry  in  order  to  get  there  at  the  earliest  possi 
ble  moment,  and  Beauregard  started  in  that  direction  in 
person  with  the  understanding  that  Johnston  should 
send  him  re-enforcements. 

The  defeat  of  McDowell's  army  not  being  fully  util 
ized  by  the  Confederates  caused  the  victory  to  be  re 
garded  by  some  at  the  South  as  unfortunate,  for  it  was 
followed  by  a  period  of  fancied  security,  while  the  op 
posite  effect  was  produced  at  the  North.  So  great  was 
the  confidence  in  the  power  to  establish  another  republic 
on  this  continent  that  politicians  at  the  South  already 
began  to  plot  for  the  Presidential  succession.  Beaure 
gard  was  one  of  those  named  for  office,  and  he  wrote  a 
letter  to  the  public  press,  dated  "  within  the  hearing  of 
the  enemy's  guns,"  declaring  that  he  was  not  a  candidate. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  day  that  Washington  was  crowd 
ed  with  fugitives  from  the  Federal  army  the  House  of 
Representatives  passed  a  resolution  pledging  to  the 
country  and  to  the  world  "  the  employment  of  every 
resource,  national  and  individual;  for  the  suppression 
and  punishment  of  armed  rebels."  While  the  South 
rested  on  the  laurels  of  Manassas  the  North  went  vigor 
ously  to  work  to  repair  its  fortunes.  Congress  author 
ized  an  army  of  half  a  million  of  men  to  be  enlisted  for 
three  years,  an  increase  of  the  navy,  and  a  large  loan. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE    CAMPAIGN    IN    WEST    VIRGINIA. 

GENERAL  LEE  was  in  Richmond  during  the  opera 
tions  at  Manassas,  and  contributed  his  humble  part  by 
the  organization  and  equipment  of  the  army,  as  well  as 
in  the  selection  of  the  battlefields.  He  was  not  dazzled 
by  the  blaze  of  victory  which  glistened  from  the  tips 
of  the  Southern  bayonets,  or  filled  with  undue  elation. 
He  was  one  among  the  very  few  in  the  South  who 
always  felt  the  contest  would  be  obstinate  and  pro 
longed.  No  one  knew  better  than  he  the  great  re 
sources  of  one  of  the  combatants,  as  well  as  the  de 
termination  and  courage  of  both.  Six  days  after  the 
battle  he  writes  Mrs.  Lee  from  Richmond,  July  27,  1861 : 
"That,  indeed,  was  a  glorious  victory,  and  has  light 
ened  the  pressure  upon  us  amazingly.  Do  not  grieve 
for  the  brave  dead,  but  sorrow  for  those  they  left  be 
hind — friends,  relatives,  and  families.  The  former  are 
at  rest ;  the  latter  must  suffer.  The  battle  will  be  re 
peated  there  in  greater  force.  I  hope  God  will  again 
smile  on  us  and  strengthen  our  hearts  and  arms.  I 
wished  to  partake  in  the  former  struggle,  and  am  morti 
fied  at  my  absence.  But  the  President  thought  it  more 
important  that  I  should  be  here.  I  could  not  have  done 
as  well  as  has  been  done,  but  I  could  have  helped  and 
taken  part  in  a  struggle  for  my  home  and  neighborhood. 
So  the  work  is  done,  I  care  not  by  whom  it  is  done.  I 
leave  to-morrow  for  the  army  in  western  Virginia." 

As  no  immediate  hostile  advance  now  threatened 
the  Federal  or  Confederate  capitals,  other  sections  be 
gan  to  receive  attention.  Northwest  Virginia  lies  be 
tween  the  Alleghany  Mountains  and  the  Ohio  River.  It 
is  a  rough,  mountainous  district,  with  only  a  few  passable 

(1 12) 


THE   CAMPAIGN   IN   WEST   VIRGINIA.  113 

roads  connecting  it  with  the  remainder  of  the  State.  The 
iron  horse  had  never  penetrated  its  soil  or  watered  in  its 
mountain  streams.  There  was  not  that  touch  and  feel 
ing  of  interest  that  is  derived  from  personal  contact  be 
tween  the  citizens  of  northwest  Virginia  and  other  por 
tions  of  the  Old  Dominion.  On  the  question  of  seces 
sion  the  majority  of  them  differed  widely  from  the  great 
mass  of  Virginians.  It  was  doubtful  territory,  and  both 
the  Governments  at  Washington  and  at  Richmond  rec 
ognized  the  importance  at  an  early  date  of  sending 
troops  there,  the  one  to  protect  and  nourish  the  Union 
sentiment,  the  other  to  aid  and  encourage  those  who 
sympathized  with  the  South.  Henry  A.  Wise,  once 
their  governor,  was  made  a  brigadier  general  and  as 
sembled  a  force  with  which  he  advanced  to  Charleston, 
on  the  Kanawha  River,  but  afterward  returned  to  Lew- 
isburg,  on  the  Greenbrier.  It  was  thought  by  his  pres 
ence  and  eloquence  that  the  resident  population  might 
be  made  confederate  in  feeling  and  his  army  largely  re 
cruited.  General  John  B.  Floyd,  who  had  been  Presi 
dent  Buchanan's  Secretary  of  War,  had  been  commis 
sioned  at  Richmond  as  brigadier  general,  and  had  re 
cruited  and  organized  a  brigade  in  southwest  Virginia, 
and  in  July  led  it  over  to  the  region  of  the  Kanawha. 
This  was  the  first  field  assigned  to  George  B.  McClellan 
by  the  Federal  War  Department,  an  officer  of  great 
promise,  who,  graduating  at  West  Point  in  1846,  had  for 
his  classmates,  among  others,  Burnside  and  Stonewall 
Jackson.  He  served  first  in  the  Engineer  Corps,  and  in 
1855  was  appointed  a  captain  in  the  First  Cavalry.  His 
previous  military  experience  had  been  much  the  same  as 
Lee's.  In  1857  he  resigned,  to  take  up  railroad  work, 
and  when  war  commenced  he  was  made  a  major  general 
of  Ohio  volunteers.  He  crossed  into  northwest  Vir 
ginia  on  the  26th  of  May,  he  says,  of  his  own  volition 
and  without  orders.  A  portion  of  his  command  was 
under  General  Cox  on  the  Kanawha.  In  McClellan's 
immediate  front  was  a  Confederate  force  under  General 
Robert  S.  Garnett,  who  had  been  ordered  to  defend  that 
portion  of  northwest  Virginia. 

Garnett  was  a  Virginian,  who  had  graduated  at  the 
Military  Academy  five  years  before  McClellan.    He  had 


GENERAL  LEE. 

won  his  laurels  in  the  Mexican  campaign  and  after 
ward  against  the  Indians.  Upon  resigning  from  the 
United  States  Army  his  first  service  in  the  South  was 
as  adjutant  general  of  the  Virginia  forces.  He  was  con 
sidered  an  excellent  officer,  a  rigid  disciplinarian,  and, 
in  consequence  of  many  soldierly  traits,  had  at  one  time 
been  appointed  commandant  of  the  Cadet  Corps  at  West 
Point.  In  June  this  officer  occupied,  with  a  force  of 
about  five  thousand  men,  Laurel  Hill,  thirteen  miles 
south  of  Philippi,  on  the  turnpike  leading  to  Beverly,  in 
Randolph  County.  McClellan  reached  Grafton  on  the 
23d  of  the  same  month,  and  on  the  same  day  issued  a 
proclamation  to  the  inhabitants  of  West  Virginia,  and 
on  the  following  day  another  to  the  "  soldiers  of  the 
Army  of  the  West,"  both  in  the  bombastic,  inflated 
style  followed  by  officers  on  each  side  in  the  early 
days  of  the  war.  He  called  his  enemies  hard  names 
and  charged  them  with  grave  offenses,  and  in  many  ways 
differed  from  the  same  McClellan  who  afterward  com 
manded  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  "  Soldiers,"  said  he, 
"  I  have  heard  there  was  danger  here.  I  have  come  to 
place  myself  at  your  head  and  share  it  with  you.  I  fear 
now  but  one  thing — that  you  will  not  find  foemen  worthy 
of  your  steel."  He  had  evidently  been  reading  some 
of  the  proclamations  of  a  "great  master  of  war,"  and 
attempted  to  follow  his  style.  The  attention  of  the 
public  was  drawn  to  this  Napoleonic  imitation,  for  about 
that  time  he  received  the  appellation  of  the  "  Young 
Napoleon,"  and  was  so  called  after  he  had  been  brought 
from  West  Virginia  to  the  command  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac.  The  headquarters  of  the  Department  of 
the  Ohio  were  established  at  Buckhannon,  and  from 
this  point  McClellan  determined  to  attack  the  force  on 
Rich  Mountain,  and  advanced  and  deployed  in  front  of 
the  opposing  army,  which  he  found  strongly  intrenched. 
He  promptly  resorted  to  the  only  method  left  in  mili 
tary  operations  in  the  mountains,  and  decided  to  turn 
their  flank  and  rear,  which  General  Rosecrans  success 
fully  did  with  four  regiments.  The  troops  at  this  point 
were  a  portion  of  Garnett's  force  under  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  John  Pegram.  Beverly  was  occupied  by  the  Fed 
eral  troops  the  next  day,  and  General  Garnett  with  the 


THE   CAMPAIGN   IN   WEST  VIRGINIA.  jjij 

remainder  of  his  army,  finding  that  retreat  had  been  cut 
off  in  that  direction,  abandoned  his  intrenchments  on 
Laurel  Hill  and  made  a  hasty  retreat  in  the  night  over 
a  rough  country  road  in  the  direction  of  St.  George,  in 
Tucker  County.  He  was  rapidly  followed  and  his  rear 
overtaken  at  Carrick's  Ford,  on  the  Shafer  Fork  of  the 
main  branch  of  Cheat  River.  In  the  engagement  which 
followed  Garnett  was  killed. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Pegram,  who  had  escaped  with  a 
force  of  some  five  hundred  men  from  Laurel  Hill,  not 
being  able  to  join  General  Garnett  in  consequence  of 
the  latter's  retreat,  determined  to  surrender  his  little 
force,  which  had  been  without  food  for  two  days,  as 
prisoners  of  war,  and  on  July  i2th  surrendered  to  Gen 
eral  McClellan  five  hundred  and  sixty  men  and  thirty- 
three  commissioned  officers.  Four  days  afterward  Mc 
Clellan  issued  another  address  to  his  troops :  "  Sol 
diers  of  the  Army  of  the  West,"  said  he,  "  I  am  more 
than  satisfied  with  you  ;  you  have  annihilated  two  armies 
commanded  by  educated  and  experienced  soldiers." 
The  two  armies  here  referred  to  were  the  four  thou 
sand  men  under  Garnett,  and  Pegram's  small  force.  In 
his  dispatch  of  July  i2th  to  the  adjutant  general  at 
Washington  he  estimated  Garnett's  force  at  ten  thou 
sand,  beginning  at  this  time  a  habit  of  multiplying  the 
number  of  his  enemy  by  two,  which  he  never  afterward 
abandoned.  The  success  of  the  campaign,  however, 
had  a  marked  effect  upon  his  future.  General  Scott  tele 
graphed  :  "  The  General  in  Chief,  the  Cabinet,  the  Presi 
dent,  are  charmed  with  your  activity  and  valor.  We  do 
not  doubt  that  you  will  in  due  time  sweep  the  rebels 
from  western  Virginia,  but  we  do  not  mean  to  precipitate 
you,  as  you  are  fast  enough."  After  McDowell's  defeat 
at  Manassas,  McClellan  was  selected  to  command  the 
defenses  at  Washington,  and  the  day  after  that  battle, 
while  at  Beverly,  was  informed  by  Adjutant-General 
Thomas,  at  Washington,  that  his  presence  there  with 
out  delay  was  necessary.  General  William  S.  Rosecrans 
succeeded  him. 

On  July  28th  McClellan  assumed  command  of  the 
Department  of  Northeastern  Virginia  and  of  Washing 
ton.  Being  necessary  to  select  another  commanding 


Il6  GENERAL   LEE. 

officer  for  the  Southern  troops  in  Northwest  Virginia, 
General  Lee  designated  Brigadier-General  Loring,  who 
had  been  a  distinguished  officer  in  the  United  States 
service,  to  be  Garnett's  successor.  Loring  left  Rich 
mond  July  22d  and  proceeded  at  once  to  Monterey,  in 
Highland  County,  and  thence  to  Huntersville,  where  a 
force  was  being  organized  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
the  Cheat  Mountain  pass,  a  strategic  point  of  great 
value  over  which  the  Staunton  and  Parkersburg  turn 
pike  crossed.  The  Confederate  authorities — having  been 
informed  of  the  advance  of  the  Federal  General  Cox  in 
the  Kanawha  Valley  and  that  there  would  probably  be 
two  armies  operating  in  northwest  Virginia,  and  also 
being  disappointed  in  what  had  been  accomplished  in 
that  section — determined  to  send  out  there  an  officer  of 
high  rank  and  reputation.  Mr.  Davis  offered  the  com 
mand  of  that  department,  therefore,  to  General  Joseph 
E.  Johnston  first,  as  there  was  no  necessity  for  Johnston 
and  Beauregard  both  to  remain  at  Manassas.  Gen 
eral  Johnston  declined  the  offer,  because  he  thought 
the  most  important  battles  would  be  fought  between 
Washington  and  Richmond.  It  was  then  determined 
that  General  Lee  should  assume  command  in  person  of 
that  department,  for  his  duties  of  organizing  and  as 
signing  troops  to  the  different  sections  had  nearly  ter 
minated.  The  Secretary  of  War  and  the  adjutant  general, 
under  the  direction  of  the  President,  were  the  proper 
persons  to  direct  army  movements  now.  General  Lee 
proceeded  at  once  to  West  Virginia,  and  for  the  first 
time  assumed  active  command  of  the  troops  in  the  field. 
He  went  at  first  to  Huntersville,  where  he  found  Loring, 
then  to  Valley  Mountain,  where  Colonel  Gilliam  had 
been  stationed.  From  the  former  point  he  wrote  to  his 
wife,  August  4,  1861  : 

"  I  reached  here  yesterday  to  visit  this  portion  of  the 
army.  The  points  from  which  we  can  be  attacked  are 
numerous,  and  the  enemy's  means  unlimited,  so  we  must 
always  be  on  the  alert ;  it  is  so  difficult  to  get  our  peo 
ple,  unaccustomed  to  the  necessities  of  war,  to  compre 
hend  and  promptly  execute  the  measures  required  for 
the  occasion.  General  Johnson,  of  Georgia,  commands 
on  the  Monterey  line,  General  Loring  on  this  line,  and 


THE  CAMPAIGN    IN   WEST  VIRGINIA.  II7 

General  Wise,  supported  by  General  Floyd,  on  the 
Kanawha  line.  The  soldiers  everywhere  are  sick.  The 
measles  are  prevalent  throughout  the  whole  army.  You 
know  that  disease  leaves  unpleasant  results  and  at 
tacks  the  lungs,  etc.,  especially  in  camp,  where  the  ac 
commodations  for  the  sick  are  poor.  I  traveled  from 
Staunton  on  horseback.  A  part  of  the  road  I  traveled 
over  in  the  summer  of  1840  on  my  return  to  St.  Louis 
after  bringing  you  home.  If  any  one  had  told  me  that 
the  next  time  I  traveled  that  road  would  have  been 
my  present  errand,  I  should  have  supposed  him  insane. 
I  enjoyed  the  mountains  as  I  rode  along.  The  views 
were  magnificent.  The  valleys  so  peaceful,  the  scen 
ery  so  beautiful !  What  a  glorious  world  Almighty 
God  has  given  us !  How  thankless  and  ungrateful  we 
are ! " 

And  from  Valley  Mountain,  August  9,  1861,  he  writes : 
"  I  have  been  three  days  coming  from  Monterey  to 
Huntersville.  The  mountains  are  beautiful,  fertile  to 
the  tops,  covered  with  the  richest  sward  and  blue  grass 
and  white  clover.  The  inclosed  fields  wave  with  a  natu 
ral  growth  of  timothy.  This  is  a  magnificent  grazing 
country,  and  all  it  wants  is  labor  to  clear  the  mountain 
sides  of  timber.  It  has  rained,  I  believe,  some  portion 
of  every  day  since  I  left  Staunton.  Now  it  is  pouring. 
Colonel  Washington,  Captain  Taliaferro,  and  myself  are 
in  one  tent,  which  as  yet  protects  us.  I  have  enjoyed 
the  company  of  our  son  while  I  have  been  here.  He  is 
very  well  and  very  active,  and  as  yet  the  war  has  not 
reduced  him  much.  He  dined  with  me  yesterday  and 
preserves  his  fine  appetite.  To-day  he  is  out  recon- 
noitering,  and  has  the  full  benefit  of  this  fine  rain.  I 
fear  he  is  without  his  overcoat,  as  I  do  not  recollect 
seeing  it  on  his  saddle.  I  told  you  he  had  been  pro 
moted  to  a  major  in  the  cavalry,  and  he  is  the  com 
manding  cavalry  officer  on  this  line  at  present.  He  is 
sanguine,  cheerful,  and  hearty  as  ever.  I  sent  him  some 
corn  meal  this  morning,  and  he  sent  me  some  butter — a 
mutual  exchange  of  good  things.  The  men  are  suffer 
ing  from  measles  and  so  on,  as  elsewhere,  but  are  cheer 
ful  and  light-hearted.  The  nights  are  cool  and  the  water 
delicious.  Send  word  to  Miss  Lou  Washington  that  her 
9 


GENERAL   LEE. 

father*  is  sitting  on  his  blanket  sewing  a  strap  on  his 
haversack.  I  think  she  ought  to  be  here  to  do  it." 

And  on  September  ist,  from  the  same  place,  he  tells 
her:  "We  have  had  a  great  deal  of  sickness  among  the 
soldiers,  and  those  now  on  the  sick  list  would  form  an 
army.  The  measles  is  still  among  them,  but  I  hope  is 
dying  out.  The  constant  cold  rains,  mud,  etc.,  with  no 
shelter  or  tents,  have  aggravated  it.  All  these  drawbacks, 
with  impassable  roads,  have  paralyzed  our  efforts." 

It  was  Loring's  purpose  to  attempt  a  movement  on 
Reynolds's  rear.  This  officer  occupied,  with  two  thou 
sand  men,  Cheat  Mountain  pass,  through  which  the 
Staunton  and  Parkersburg  pike  passed,  and  had  three 
thousand  men  in  Tygart's  Valley  on  the  road  to  Hut- 
tonsville,  with  a  reserve  at  Huttonsville,  so  he  could 
re-enforce  his  troops  on  the  Staunton  road,  or  on  the 
Valley  Mountain  road,  as  necessary.  Loring,  with  thirty- 
five  hundred  effective  troops,  was  in  front  of  him  on  the 
latter,  while  General  H.  R.  Jackson,  with  twenty-five 
hundred  men,  opposed  him  on  the  Staunton  road.  The 
natural  topographical  features,  supplemented  by  arti 
ficial  means,  rendered  his  position  very  strong  on  both. 
General  Lee  promptly  took  the  offensive  by  threatening 
his  front,  while  a  column  should  proceed,  if  possible, 
around  one  of  his  flanks  and  assault  his  rear — a  plan 
similar  to  that  adopted  by  McClellan  at  Rich  Mountain. 

The  greatest  difficulty  in  a  campaign  of  this  descrip 
tion  is  to  discover  suitable  routes  or  paths  over  the 
rocks  and  precipitous  mountain  sides  for  the  troops  of 
the  turning  column.  General  Lee's  experience  as  an  en 
gineer  in  Mexico  had  taught  him  the  duties  of  a  recon- 
noitering  officer.  He  therefore  not  only  availed  him 
self  of  the  information  derived  from  others,  but  would 
personally  proceed  daily  long  distances  for  that  purpose. 

At  this  time  Rosecrans  was  in  the  Kanawha  Valley 
with  Cox's  column,  and  was  opposed  by  the  troops  of 
the  Confederate  Generals  Floyd  and  Wise,  and  was  not 
with  the  force  in  General  Lee's  front.  He  and  Lee  com 
manded  the  whole  department  on  their  respective  sides. 
The  army  whose  movements  General  Lee  was  about  to 

*  His  aid-de-camp,  Colonel  John  Augustine  Washington. 


THE   CAMPAIGN   IN   WEST   VIRGINIA. 

superintend  in  person  consisted,  as  stated,  of  about  six 
thousand  men,  including  a  few  companies  of  cavalry,  as 
well  as  a  fine  battalion  of  the  same  arm  under  General 
Lee's  son,  Major  W.  H.  F.  Lee.  Reynolds's  force  was 
estimated  at  about  ten  thousand. 

After  Floyd's  clever  defeat  of  Tyler  at  Cross  Lane, 
on  the  26th  of  August,  he  and  General  Wise  seem  to  have 
kept  on  different  sides  of  the  Gauley  River,  and  there 
did  not  seem  to  be  that  concert  of  action  between  them 
necessary  to  win  success.  General  Rosecrans,  an  able 
and  sagacious  officer,  was  not  slow  to  recognize  the  de 
tached  positions  of  these  commands,  and  determined  to 
re-enforce  Cox  and  attempt  the  defeat  of  one  or  both 
of  them.  He  advanced  rapidly  and  assaulted  Floyd's 
position,  but  was  repulsed.  Floyd  then  crossed  the 
Gauley,  followed  by  Rosecrans,  and  with  Wise  fell  back 
to  Sewell  Mountain,  the  latter  remaining  on  its  eastern 
front,  while  the  former  fell  still  farther  back  to  Meadow 
Bluff,  eighteen  miles  west  of  Lewisburg. 

Leaving  th~  operations  in  this  section  for  the  present 
to  the  immediate  commanders  of  the  troops,  General 
Lee  proposed  first  to  win  a  victory,  if  possible,  over 
Reynolds.  He  was  combative,  anxious  to  strike,  but 
many  difficulties  confronted  him.  He  fully  realized  he 
had  been  sent  to  West  Virginia  to  retrieve  Confederate 
disasters,  and  that  he  had  a  most  difficult  task  to  per 
form.  The  Federal  commander  held  the  center  summit 
of  Cheat  Mountain  pass,  the  mountain  having  three 
well-defined  summits.  The  center  one  was  selected 
by  the  Federals  as  the  best  one  to  defend,  and  there  a 
block  fort  was  constructed  with  flanking  outworks  con 
sisting  of  intrenchments  of  earth  and  logs,  the  whole 
line  of  defense  being  protected  by  dense  abatis.  The 
position  chosen  was  inaccessible  in  many  directions  by  the 
steep,- rugged  walls  of  the  mountain.  It  was  necessary 
first  to  carry  this  well-selected  position  of  the  Federal 
troops.  A  citizen  surveyor,  in  sympathy  with  the  South 
and  familiar  with  the  mountain  paths,  had  made  a 
trip  to  an  elevated  point  where  he  could  clearly  see 
the  Federal  position,  and  reported  his  observations  to 
General  Lee.  Afterward  he  made  a  second  reconnois- 
sance,  accompanied  by  Colonel  Albert  Rust,  of  the  Third 
9 


12Q  GENERAL   LEE. 

Arkansas  Regiment,  who  was  anxious  to  see  the  nature 
of  the  ground  and  the  strength  of  the  position  for  him 
self.  They  reported  to  General  Lee  that  in  their  opinion 
the  enemy's  position  could  be  assailed  with  success  with 
troops  which  could  be  guided  to  the  point  they  had 
reached.  General  Lee  decided  to  make  the  attack,  and 
gave  to  Rust  a  column  of  twelve  hundred  infantry,  with 
such  capable  officers  as  Taliaferro  and  Fulkerson.  Gen 
eral  Jackson  was  to  advance  via  the  turnpike  to  confront 
the  enemy  from  that  direction,  while  another  column, 
under  Brigadier-General  Anderson,  was  to  advance  to 
the  third  or  west  top  of  Cheat  Mountain,  where  they 
could  secure  possession  of  the  turnpike  and  be  in  the 
rear  of  the  enemy.  The  rest  of  the  army  was  to  move 
down  the  Tygart's  River  valley  upon  the  forces  of  the 
enemy  stationed  there.  The  attack  on  these  troops, 
however,  was  to  depend  on  the  successful  assault  of  the 
fortified  position  on  Cheat  Mountain.  It  was  an  admi 
rably  conceived  plan.  The  key  point  was  first  to  be 
carried ;  the  report  of  the  guns  of  the  troops  engaged 
there  was  the  signal  for  an  assault  in  front,  while  a 
force  was  thrown  in  the  rear  of  both  positions  to  cut 
off  retreat.  General  Loring  issued  his  order  of  attack 
on  September  8,  1861.  General  Lee  issued  an  order 
approving  it  on  the  same  date,  telling  his  troops  that 
the  safety  of  their  lives  and  the  lives  of  all  they  held 
dear  depended  upon  their  courage  and  exertions.  "  Let 
each  man,"  said  he,  "  resolve  to  be  victorious,  and  that 
the  right  of  self-government,  liberty,  and  peace  shall  in 
him  find  a  defender."  The  movement  was  to  begin  at 
night,  which  happened  to  be  a  very  rainy  one.  All  the 
troops,  however,  got  in  the  positions  assigned  to  them 
without  the  knowledge  of  the  enemy,  where  they  waited, 
every  moment  expecting  to  hear  the  rattle  of  Rust's 
muskets,  who  had  been  charged  with  the  capture  of  the 
pass  on  Cheat  Mountain;  but  hour  after  hour  passed, 
and  no  sounds  were  heard.  After  a  delay  of  many 
hours,  and  the  enemy  had  divined  the  nature  of  the  at 
tack,  the  troops  were  ordered  back  to  their  former  posi 
tion.  There  had  been  only  a  small  conflict  between 
cavalry,  in  which  Colonel  John  A.  Washington,  General 
Lee's  aid-de-camp,  who  had  been  sent  with  Major  W. 


THE   CAMPAIGN   IN   WEST   VIRGINIA.  I2i 

H.  F.  Lee  to  reconnoiter  the  enemy,  was  killed  from  an 
ambuscade.  Colonel  Rust  did  not  report  to  General 
Lee  until  the  next  day — September  13,  1861 ;  he  admits 
that  he  got  to  the  designated  place  at  the  appointed 
time,  notwithstanding  the  rain  ;  that  he  seized  a  number 
of  pickets  and  scouts,  and  learned  from  them  that  the 
enemy  in  front  of  him  was  between  four  and  five  thou 
sand  strong  and  was  strongly  fortified.  He  made  a  re- 
connoissance  and  found  these  representations  were  fully 
corroborated.  Rust  claims  in  his  reports  that  spies  had 
communicated  the  movements  of  the  Confederate  troops 
to  the  enemy.  This  officer  evidently  did  not  attack,  be 
cause  he  found,  on  getting  close  to  the  Federal  position, 
that  it  was  much  stronger  than  he  thought  it  was  from 
the  preliminary  reconnoissances  he  had  made.  As  the 
attack  of  the  whole  depended  on  the  assault  of  this  force, 
the  failure  to  attack  caused  a  corresponding  failure  of 
the  whole  movement.  The  plan  of  operations  was  well 
devised,  and,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  might  have 
proved  successful. 

Military  operations  are  often  like  a  vast  piece  of 
machinery  :  with  one  part  out  of  gear,  the  successful 
operation  of  the  whole  machine  is  not  possible.  In  a 
letter  to  Mrs.  Lee,  dated  Valley  Mountain,  September 
17,  1861,  the  general  writes:  "I  had  hoped  to  have  sur 
prised  the  enemy's  works  on  the  morning  of  the  i2th, 
both  at  Cheat  Mountain  and  on  Valley  River.  All  the 
attacking  parties  with  great  labor  had  reached  their 
destination  over  mountains  considered  impassable  to 
bodies  of  troops,  notwithstanding  the  heavy  storm  that 
had  set  in  the  day  before  and  raged  all  night,  in  which 
they  had  to  stand  till  daylight;  their  arms  were  then 
unserviceable,  and  they  in  poor  condition  for  a  fierce 
assault.  After  waiting  till  ten  o'clock  for  the  assault 
on  Cheat  Mountain,  which  did  not  take  place,  and  which 
was  to  be  the  signal  for  the  rest,  they  were  withdrawn, 
and  after  waiting  three  days  in  front  of  the  enemy,  hop 
ing  he  would  come  out  of  his  trenches,  we  returned  to 
our  position  at  this  place.  I  can  not  tell  you  my  regret 
and  mortification  at  the  untoward  events  that  caused 
the  failure  of  the  plan.  I  had  taken  every  precaution 
to  insure  success,  and  counted  on  it ;  but  the  Ruler  of 


122  GENERAL   LEE. 

the  Universe  willed  otherwise,  and  sent  a  storm  to  dis 
concert  the  well-laid  plan.  We  are  no  worse  off  now 
than  before,  except  the  disclosure  of  our  plan,  against 
which  they  will  guard.  We  met  with  one  heavy  loss 
which  grieves  me  deeply :  Colonel  Washington,  accom 
panied  Fitzhugh  [his  son]  on  a  reconnoitering  expedi 
tion.  I  fear  they  were  carried  away  by  their  zeal  and 
approached  within  the  enemy's  pickets.  The  first  they 
knew  there  was  a  volley  from  a  concealed  party  within 
a  few  yards  of  them.  Three  balls  passed  through  the 
colonel's  body,  three  struck  his  horse,  and  the  horse  of 
one  of  the  men  was  killed.  Fitzhugh  mounted  the  colo 
nel's  horse  and  brought  him  off.  I  am  much  grieved. 
He  was  always  anxious  to  go  on  these  expeditions. 
This  was  the  first  day  I  assented.  Since  I  had  been 
thrown  in  such  immediate  relations  with  him,  I  had 
learned  to  appreciate  him  very  highly.  Morning  and 
evening  have  I  seen  him  on  his  knees  praying  to  his 
Maker.  '  The  righteous  perisheth,  and  no  man  layeth 
it  to  heart;  the  merciful  men  are  taken  away,  none  con 
sidering  that  the  righteous  are  taken  away  from  the  evil 
to  come.'  May  God  have  mercy  on  us  all !  " 

And  on  the  26th  of  the  same  month  he  writes  from 
his  camp  on  Sewell  Mountain:  "I  told  you  of  the 
death  of  Colonel  Washington.  I  grieve  for  his  loss, 
though  I  trust  him  to  the  mercy  of  our  heavenly  Father. 
It  is  raining  heavily.  The  men  are  all  exposed  on  the 
mountains,  with  the  enemy  opposite  to  us.  We  are 
without  tents,  and  for  two  nights  I  have  lain  buttoned 
up  in  my  overcoat.  To-day  my  tent  came  up  and  I  am 
in  it,  yet  I  fear  I  shall  not  sleep  for  thinking  of  the  poor 
men.  I  have  no  doubt  the  socks  you  mentioned  will  be 
very  acceptable  to  the  men  here  and  elsewhere.  If  you 
can  send  them  here  I  will  distribute  to  the  most  needy." 

This  movement  having  failed,  and  knowing  that 
the  enemy  would  be  prepared  for  any  second  attempt 
which,  from  the  nature  of  the  country,  would  have  to 
be  similar  to  the  one  already  tried,  General  Lee  de 
cided  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  commands  of  Wise 
and  Floyd  in  front  of  Rosecrans,  leaving  General  H.  R. 
Jackson  in  Reynolds's  front.  He  proceeded  at  once 
to  Floyd's  command,  which  he  reached  on  September 


THE   CAMPAIGN   IN   WEST   VIRGINIA. 


123 


2Oth,  and  then  to  Wise's  camp,  closely  inspecting  both. 
He  at  once  perceived  that  Wise's  position  was  the  strong 
est  and  offered  the  best  means  for  successful  defense, 
and  promptly  concentrated  his  forces  at  that  point. 

General  Lee  expressed  regret  at  not  finding  the 
commands  of  Floyd  and  Wise  united,  and  said  it  would 
be  the  height  of  imprudence  to  submit  them  separately 
to  the  attack  of  Rosecrans.  He  desired  the  troops  to 
be  massed  at  once,  so  that  "We  conquer  or  die  to 
gether,"  a  most  extravagant  and  unusual  form  of  speech 
for  him  to  adopt.  "  You  have  spoken,"  said  he  to  Wise, 
"of  want  of  consultation  and  concert.  Let  that  pass 
till  the  enemy  is  driven  back.  I  expect  this  of  your 
magnanimity.  Consult  that  and  the  interest  of  your 
cause,  and  all  will  go  well."  "  Just  say,  then,"  replied 
Wise,  "  where  we  are  to  *  unite  and  conquer  or  die  to 
gether,'  and  I  will  delight  to  obey  you." 

Rosecrans  had  advanced  to  the  top  of  Big  Sewell 
Mountain  and  had  placed  his  army  in  a  strong  position. 
General  Lee,  with  the  troops  of  Wise,  Floyd,  and  Loring 
— about  eight  thpusand  men — occupied  a  position  on  a 
parallel  range.  The  two  armies  were  now  in  close  prox 
imity  to  each  other,  both  occupying  strong  defensive 
positions.  Lee  and  Rosecrans,  having  been  officers  of 
the  engineers,  were  fully  aware  of  the  great  disadvan 
tage  an  attacking  army  would  have,  and  each  waited, 
hoping  the  other  would  attack.  After  occupying  these 
positions  for  twelve  days,  Rosecrans,  on  the  night  of 
October  6th,  retreated.  The  condition  of  the  roads,  the 
mud,  the  swollen  streams,  the  large  numbers  of  men 
with  typhoid  fever  and  measles,  the  condition  of  the 
horses,  of  the  artillery,  and  transportation,  were  such 
that  Lee  decided  not  to  pursue.  It  is  possible  that  had 
he  known  Rosecrans  would  not  attack  he  would  have 
given  battle  himself,  notwithstanding  the  great  advan 
tage  Rosecrans  would  have  possessed  by  accepting  it  in 
his  strong  defensive  position.  The  rapid  approach  of 
winter  and  the  rainy  season  terminated  the  campaign 
in  this  section. 

In  a  letter  dated  Sewell  Mountain,  October  7,  1861, 
General  Lee  tells  Mrs.  Lee  that  at  the  time  of  the  recep 
tion  of  her  letter  "the  enemy  was  threatening  an  at- 


124  GENERAL   LEE. 

tack,  which  was  continued  till  Saturday  night,  when, 
under  cover  of  darkness  and  our  usual  mountain  mist, 
he  suddenly  withdrew.  Your  letter,  with  the  socks,  was 
handed  to  me  when  I  was  preparing  to  follow.  I  could 
not  at  the  time  attend  to  either,  but  I  have  since ;  and 
as  I  found  Perry  [his  colored  servant  from  Arlington] 
in  desperate  need,  I  bestowed  a  couple  of  pairs  on  him 
as  a  present  from  you  ;  the  others  I  have  put  in  my 
trunk,  and  suppose  they  will  fall  to  the  lot  of  Meredith 
[a  colored  servant  from  the  White  House],  into  the  state 
of  whose  hose  I  have  not  yet  inquired.  Should  any  sick 
man  require  them  first  he  shall  have  them,  but  Meredith 
will  have  no  one  near  to  supply  him  but  me,  and  will  nat 
urally  expect  that  attention.  The  water  is  almost  as  bad 
here  as  in  the  mountains  I  left.  There  was  a  drenching 
rain  yesterday,  and  as  I  left  my  overcoat  in  camp,  I  was 
thoroughly  wet  from  head  to  foot.  It  has  been  raining 
ever  since,  and  is  now  coming  down  with  a  will ;  but  I 
have  my  clothes  out  on  the  bushes,  and  they  will  be  well 
washed.  The  force  of  the  enemy,  estimated  by  prison 
ers  captured,  is  put  down  at  from  seventeen  to  twenty 
thousand — General  Floyd  thinks  eighteen  thousand.  I 
do  not  think  it  exceeds  nine  or  ten  thousand,  but  it 
exceeds  ours.  I  wish  he  had  attacked,  as  I  believe  he 
would  have  been  repulsed  with  great  loss.  The  rum 
bling  of  his  wheels,  etc.,  were  heard  by  our  pickets ;  but 
as  that  was  customary  at  night  in  moving  and  placing 
his  cannon,  the  officer  of  the  day,  to  whom  it  was  re 
ported,  paid  no  particular  attention  to  it,  supposing  it  to 
be  a  preparation  for  an  attack  in  the  morning.  When 
day  appeared  the  bird  had  flown,  and  the  misfortune 
was  that  the  reduced  condition  of  our  horses  for  want 
of  provender,  exposure  to  cold  rains  in  these  mountains, 
and  want  of  provisions  for  the  men,  prevented  the  vigor 
ous  pursuit  of  following  up  that  had  been  prepared.  We 
can  only  get  up  provisions  from  day  to  day,  which  para 
lyzes  our  operations.  I  am  sorry,  as  you  say,  that  the 
movements  of  the  armies  can  not  keep  pace  with  the 
expectations  of  the  editors  of  papers.  I  know  they  can 
regulate  matters  satisfactory  to  themselves  on  paper.  I 
wish  they  could  do  so  in  the  field.  No  one  wishes  them 
more  success  than  I  do,  and  would  be  happy  to  see  them 


THE   CAMPAIGN   IN   WEST  VIRGINIA.  125 

have  full  swing.  General  Floyd  has  three  editors  on  his 
staff.  I  hope  something  will  be  done  to  please  them." 

It  is  true  West  Virginia,  as  it  is  called,  would  have 
been  a  desirable  accession  to  either  side.  Both  Govern 
ments  were  actuated  in  its  occupation  by  a  desire  to  pro 
tect  the  citizens  who  adhered  respectively  to  their  cause 
The  country  abounded  in  vast  forests,  coal,  and  iron, 
presenting  fields  of  wealth  and  enterprise.  The  advan 
tage,  however,  in  a  campaign  there  was  in  favor  of  the 
Federals.  The  proximity  of  their  railroads  on  the  one 
side  made  it  easier  for  them  to  concentrate  troops  rapidly 
and  furnish  them  with  supplies,  while  on  the  other  hand 
the  Southern  lines  of  communication  from  Staunton  and 
other  portions  of  eastern  Virginia  were  necessarily  long 
and  difficult. 

At  the  termination  of  this  campaign  of  General  Lee's 
the  Confederate  Government  did  not  bestow  much  at 
tention  upon  this  section.  The  majority  of  the  people 
seemed  inclined  to  support  the  Federal  side ;  indeed, 
most  of  the  counties  sent  representatives  to  a  conven 
tion  which  passed  an  ordinance  creating  them  into  a 
new  State,  which  the  Government  at  Washington  recog 
nized  as  the  State  of  Virginia. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  General  Lee  retired  from 
West  Virginia  with  diminished  military  reputation.  Great 
results  had  been  expected  from  his  presence  there.  Gar- 
nett's  defeat  and  death  were  to  be  avenged,  and  the 
whole  of  that  portion  of  Virginia  speedily  wrested  from 
the  Federal  arms.  The  public  did  not  understand  the 
difficulties  of  the  situation,  or  comprehend  why  he  did 
not  defeat  Reynolds,  or  the  failure  to  attack  Rose- 
crans.  The  news  of  the  expected  great  victories  did 
not  reach  Richmond.  Men  apparently  wise  shook  their 
heads  and  said  he  had  been  overrated  as  a  soldier ; 
that  he  relied  upon  a  "  showy  presence "  and  a  "  his 
toric  name,"  and  that  he  was  "too  tender  of  blood" 
and  leaned  too  much  to  the  engineer  side  of  a  mili 
tary  question,  preferring  rather  to  dig  intrenchments 
than  to  fight.  There  were  two  men,  however,  who 
stood  by  him  faithfully  in  this  doubtful  period  of  his 
career.  One  of  them  was  the  President  of  the  Con 
federate  States,  the  other  the  Governor  of  Virginia. 


126  GENERAL    LEE. 

They  knew  him  well,  and  that  the  failure  of  the  West 
Virginia  campaign  could  not  be  fairly  attributed  to  him. 
General  Lee  remained  quiet  under  the  occasional  attacks 
of  the  public  press.  He  knew  that  his  duty  had  been 
discharged  conscientiously.  He  was  not  aware  that  he 
had  a  "  showy  presence."  On  the  contrary,  he  was  mod 
est,  unassuming  and  simple.  He  conducted  the  campaign 
in  the  most  unostentatious  manner.  He  had  only  two 
aid-de-camps,  Colonels  Washington  and  Taylor.  The 
former  was  killed;  the  remaining  aid-de-camp  shared 
the  same  tent  with  him.  The  mess  furniture  was  of 
the  plainest  kind — tin  cups,  tin  plates,  tin  dishes,  which 
Colonel  Taylor  says  were  carried  all  through  the  war. 
In  the  full  zenith  of  his  fame  as  a  great  army  com 
mander,  any  one  who  accepted  his  hospitality  would 
be  obliged  to  eat  from  this  same  old  tinware  with 
which  he  commenced  the  war  in  West  Virginia.  It  is 
not  known  that  General  Lee  ever  attempted  in  any 
way  to  make  explanation  or  defense  of  these  attacks. 
In  a  private  letter  to  Governor  Letcher,  dated  Sep 
tember  17,  1861,  he  simply  states  that  "he  was  san 
guine  of  success  in  attacking  the  enemy's  works  on  Rich 
Mountain  "  ;  that  "  the  troops  intended  for  the  surprise 
had  reached  their  destination,  having  traversed  twenty 
miles  of  steep  and  rugged  mountain  paths,  and  the  last 
day  through  a  terrible  storm,  which  had  lasted  all  night, 
in  which  they  had  to  stand,  drenched  to  the  skin,  in  a 
cold  rain";  that  he  "waited  for  an  attack  on  Cheat 
Mountain,  which  was  to  be  the  signal,  till  10  A.  M.,  but 
the  signal  did  not  come.  The  chance  for  surprise  was 
gone.  The  provisions  of  the  men  had  been  destroyed 
the  preceding  day  by  the  storm.  They  had  nothing  to 
eat  that  morning  and  could  not  hold  out  another  day, 
and  were  obliged  to  be  withdrawn.  This,  Governor," 
he  writes,  "  is  for  your  own  eye.  Please  do  not  speak 
of  it;  we  must  try  again.  Our  greatest  loss  is  the 
death  of  my  dear  friend,  Colonel  Washington.  He  and 
my  son  were  reconnoitering  the  front  of  the  enemy. 
They  came  afterward  upon  a  concealed  party  who  fired 
upon  them  within  twenty  yards,  and  the  colonel  fell, 
pierced  by  three  balls.  My  son's  horse  received  three 
shots,  but  he  escaped  on  the  colonel's  horse.  His  zeal 


THE   CAMPAIGN    IN   WEST   VIRGINIA.  I2/ 

for  the  cause  to  which  he  had  devoted  himself  carried 
him  too  far." 

General  Lee,  in  obedience  to  instructions,  returned  to 
Richmond,  but  not  amid  the  shouts  of  the  populace.  The 
bands  did  not  play*"  See  the  Conquering  Hero  Come  "  ; 
the  chaplet  of  victory  was  missing  from  his  brow,  the 
scalps  of  Rosecrans  and  Reynolds  from  his  belt.  The 
public  looked  at  the  cold  facts,  and  were  interested  in 
actual  results.  The  difference  between  war  in  the  moun 
tains  and  war  amid  the  hills  and  valleys  and  green  fields 
was  never  for  a  moment  considered.  Four  hundred  and 
eighty-four  years  before  the  birth  of  our  Saviour,  his 
tory  tells  us  that  Xerxes  marched  with  over  one  million 
men  and  twelve  hundred  war  ships  to  invade  Greece. 
And  that  Leonidas,  with  three  hundred  Spartans  and 
about  four  thousand  men  from  the  other  parts  of  Greece, 
defied  the  King  of  Persia  and  for  two  days  held  the  defile 
in  the  mountains  known  as  the  Pass  of  Thermopylae. 

In  1861  there  were  still  passes  among  the  mountains, 
and  a  few  men  could  hold  them  against  an  army,  and 
could  only  be  dislodged  by  flank  and  rear  attacks  over 
long,  steep,  circuitous  paths.  Lee  made  the  attempt 
when  in  front  of  Reynolds.  Had  his  well-laid  plans 
been  carried  out,  possibly  he  might  have  defeated  the 
Federal  general.  In  an  offensive  movement  against 
Rosecrans  the  elements  of  success  were  against  him. 
The  naturally  strong,  elevated  position  on  Sewell 
Mountain,  made  still  stronger  by  the  methods  of  an 
engineer  of  such  great  ability  as  Rosecrans,  could  not 
have  been  easily  carried.  When  it  was  abandoned,  the 
Federal  rear  guard,  every  few  miles,  could  have  found 
other  strong  positions  where  Lee's  army  could  have 
been  detained  for  days  had  the  condition  of  his  troops 
and  the  roads  permitted  pursuit.  On  General  Lee's  re 
turn  to  Richmond  his  duties  as  military  adviser  at  the 
side  of  the  chief  executive  officer  of  the  Confederacy 
were  resumed.  No  response  was  ever  made  to  public 
criticisms.  His  vision  swept  the  future,  his  vindication 
would  come  if  opportunity  offered. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

ATLANTIC      COAST     DEFENSES. ASSIGNED     TO     DUTY     IN 

RICHMOND     AS     COMMANDER     IN     CHIEF     UNDER     THE 
DIRECTION    OF    THE    SOUTHERN    PRESIDENT. 

THE  defenseless  condition  of  the  States  south  of 
Virginia  bordering  on  the  Atlantic  coast  was  an  ob 
ject  of  solicitude  to  the  Confederate  War  Department. 
Important  seaports  and  the  sections  adjoining  them 
were  at  the  mercy  of  combined  Federal  fleets  and 
armies.  Their  proper  defense  was  most  difficult,  the 
means  most  inadequate.  It  was  a  good  field  for  a 
capable  engineer.  Lee  was  available,  and  the  emer 
gency  demanded  his  services.  Reluctantly  he  was  or 
dered  from  Richmond,  cheerfully  he  obeyed,  and  on 
November  6th  proceeded  to  South  Carolina,  where  he 
at  once  commenced  to  erect  a  line  of  defense  along  the 
Atlantic  coasts  of  that  State,  Georgia,  and  Florida. 

His  four  months'  labors  in  this  department  brought 
prominently  into  view  his  skill.  Exposed  points  were  no 
longer  in  danger.  Well-conceived  defensive  works  rose 
rapidly.  Public  confidence  in  that  department  was  per 
manently  restored,  and  with  it  came  to  Lee  a  new  acces 
sion  of  popularity  and  esteem.  His  headquarters  was 
wisely  established  at  Coosawhatchie  on  the  railroad,  a 
point  midway  between  Charleston,  S.  C.,  and  Savannah, 
Ga.,  and  from  which  he  could  give  close  supervision  to 
the  defenses  of  these  important  cities.  From  this  point, 
referring  to  the  union  of  his  family  on  Christmas  day, 
he  writes : 

COOSAWHATCHIE,  S.  C.,  December  22,  1861. 

I  shall  think  of  you  on  that  holy  day  more  intensely  than 
usual,  and  shall  pray  to  the  great  God  of  heaven  to  shower  his 
blessings  upon  you  in  this  world  and  to  unite  you  all  in  his 

(128) 


ATLANTIC  COAST   DEFENSES. 


I29 


courts  in  the  world  to  come.  With  a  grateful  heart  I  thank  him 
for  his  preservation  of  you  thus  far,  and  trust  to  his  mercy  and 
kindness  for  the  future.  Oh,  that  I  were  more  worthy  and  more 
thankful  for  all  that  he  has  done  and  continues  to  do  for  me ! 


And  again  on  Christmas  day  he  wrote 


I  can  not  let  this  day  of  grateful  rejoicing  pass  without  some 
communion  with  you.  I  am  thankful  for  the  many  among  the 
past  that  I  have  passed  with  you,  and  the  remembrance  of  them 
fills  me  with  pleasure.  As  to  our  old  home,  if  not  destroyed  it 
will  be  difficult  ever  to  be  recognized.  Even  if  the  enemy  had 
wished  to  preserve  it,  it  would  almost  have  been  impossible. 
With  the  number  of  troops  encamped  around  it,  the  change  of 
officers,  the  want  of  fuel,  shelter,  etc.,  and  all  the  dire  necessities 
of  war,  it  is  vain  to  think  of  its  being  in  a  habitable  condition.  I 
fear,  too,  the  books,  furniture,  and  relics  of  Mount  Vernon  will 
be  gone.  It  is  better  to  make  up  our  minds  to  a  general  loss. 
They  can  not  take  away  the  remembrances  of  the  spot,  and  the 
memories  of  those  that  to  us  rendered  it  sacred.  That  will  re 
main  to  us  as  long  as  life  will  last  and  that  we  can  preserve.  In 
the  absence  of  a  home  I  wish  I  could  purchase  Stratford.  It 
is  the  only  other  place  I  could  go  to  now  acceptable  to  us,  that 
would  inspire  me  with  pleasure  and  local  love.  You  and  the 
girls  could  remain  there  in  quiet.  It  is  a  poor  place,  but  we 
could  make  enough  corn-bread  and  bacon  for  our  support,  and 
the  girls  could  weave  us  clothes.  You  must  not  build  your  hopes 
on  peace  on  account  of  the  United  States  going  to  war  with  Eng 
land.  Our  rulers  are  not  entirely  mad,  and  if  they  find  England 
is  in  earnest,  and  that  war  or  a  restitution  of  the  captives  *  must 
be  the  consequence,  they  will  adopt  the  latter.  We  must  make 
up  our  minds  to  fight  our  battles  and  win  our  independence  alone. 
No  one  will  help  us. 

In  still  another  letter  from  the  same  place  the  gen 
eral  writes  Mrs.  Lee: 

I  am  truly  grateful  for  all  the  mercies  we  enjoy,  notwithstand 
ing  the  miseries  of  war,  and  join  heartily  in  the  wish  that  the 
next  year  may  find  us  in  peace  with  all  the  world.  I  am  de 
lighted  to  hear  that  our  little  grandson  is  improving  so  fast  and 
is  becoming  such  a  perfect  gentleman.  May  his  path  be  strewn 
with  flowers  and  his  life  with  happiness.  I  am  very  glad  to  hear 
also  that  his  dear  papa  is  promoted.  It  will  be  gratifying  to  him, 
I  hope,  and  increase  his  means  of  usefulness.  While  at  Fernandina 
I  went  over  to  Cumberland  Island  and  walked  up  to  Dungeness, 
the  former  residence  of  General  Greene.  It  was  my  first  visit  to 

*  Mason  and  Slidell. 


130 


GENERAL   LEE. 


the  house,  and  I  had  the  gratification  at  length  of  visiting  my 
father's  grave.  He  died  there,  you  may  recollect,  on  his  way 
from  the  West  Indies,  and  was  interred  in  one  corner  of  the 
family  cemetery.  The  spot  is  marked  by  a  plain  marble  slab, 
with  his  name,  age,  and  date  of  his  death.  Mrs.  Greene  is  also 
buried  there,  and  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Shaw,  and  her  husband. 
The  place  is  at  present  owned  by  Mr.  Nightingale,  nephew  of 
Mrs.  Shaw,  who  married  a  daughter  of  Mrs.  James  King.  The 
family  have  moved  into  the  interior  of  Georgia,  leaving  only  a 
few  servants  and  a  white  gardener  on  the  place.  The  garden 
was  beautifully  inclosed  by  the  finest  hedge  of  wild  olive  I  have 
ever  seen. 

The  harbor  of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  was  now  greatly 
strengthened.  Floating  batteries  were  constructed  and 
earthworks  at  proper  places  erected.  At  Savannah  forts 
were  built  opposite  Hilton  Head,  and  at  the  best  points 
to  cover  the  river  approaches.  Lee  watched  every  de 
tail,  and  his  eye,  with  a  soldier's  glance,  overlooked 
the  whole  Department.  His  lines  were  admirably  lo 
cated,  and  his  dispositions  for  the  general  defense  of 
the  department  were  so  skillfully  planned  that  it  was  not 
until  near  the  close  of  the  four  years'  war  that  his  enemy 
could  surmount  the  difficulties  they  presented.  These 
cities  were  the  cherished  objective  points  of  the  adminis 
tration  at  Washington,  and  large  numbers  of  soldiers  and 
sailors  were  at  various  times  during  the  war  employed 
to  secure  their  capture.  Their  safety  for  so  long  a  pe 
riod  from  impending  dangers  upon  every  side  was  due 
to  the  military  skill  of  Lee,  as  well  as  to  the  efforts  of 
the  accomplished  officers  who  were  in  immediate  com 
mand — General  Ripley  at  Charleston  and  General  Law- 
ton  at  Savannah.  Well  might  a  prophetic  tongue  utter 
at  this  period  that  the  "  time  would  come  when  Lee's 
superior  abilities  would  be  vindicated,  both  to  his  own 
renown  and  the  glory  of  his  country." 

On  February  8,  1862,  he  writes  his  wife  from  Sa 
vannah  :  "  I  wrote  you  the  day  I  left  Coosawhatchie. 
I  have  been  here  ever  since  endeavoring  to  push  for 
ward  the  works  for  the  defense  of  the  city.  Guns  are 
scarce  as  well  as  ammunition.  I  shall  have  to  bring  up 
batteries  from  the  coast,  I  fear,  to  provide  for  this  city. 
Our  enemies  are  trying  to  work  their  way  through 
the  creeks  and  soft  marshes  along  the  interior  of  the 


ATLANTIC   COAST   DEFENSES.  13! 

coast,  which  communicate  with  the  sounds  and  sea, 
through  which  the  Savannah  flows,  and  thus  avoid  the 
entrance  to  the  river,  commanded  by  Fort  Pulaski. 
Their  boats  require  only  seven  feet  of  water  to  float 
them,  and  the  tide  rises  seven  feet,  so  that  at  high  water 
they  can  work  their  way  and  rest  on  the  mud  at  low.  I 
hope,  however,  we  shall  be  able  to  stop  them,  and  my 
daily  prayer  to  the  Giver  of  all  victory  is  to  enable  us 
to  do  so.  We  must  make  up  our  minds  to  meet  with  re 
verses  and  overcome  them.  But  the  contest  must  be 
long,  and  the  whole  country  has  to  go  through  much 
suffering.  It  is  necessary  we  should  be  humble  and 
taught  to  be  less  boastful,  less  selfish,  and  more  devoted 
to  right  and  justice  to  all  the  world." 

And  again  from  the  same  place,  he  says  on  Feb 
ruary  23d  :  "  The  news  from  Tennessee  and  North 
Carolina  is  not  at  all  cheering.  Disasters  seem  to  be 
thickening  around  us.  It  calls  for  renewed  energies 
and  redoubled  strength  on  our  part.  I  fear  our  soldiers 
have  not  realized  the  necessity  of  endurance  and  labor, 
and  that  it  is  better  to  sacrifice  themselves  for  our 
cause.  God,  I'hope,  will  shield  us  and  give  us  success. 
I  hear  the  enemy  is  progressing  slowly  in  his  designs. 
His  gunboats  are  pushing  up  all  the  creeks  and  marshes 
to  the  Savannah,  and  have  obtained  a  position  so  near 
the  river  as  to  shell  the  steamers  navigating  it.  I  am 
engaged  in  constructing  a  line  of  defense  at  Fort  Jack 
son,  which,  if  time  permits  and  guns  can  be  obtained, 
I  hope  will  keep  them  out." 

Spring  was  now  rapidly  approaching,  and  active  mili 
tary  operations  would  soon  be  resumed  in  many  quar 
ters.  Richmond,  the  dual  capital  city,  was  menaced  by 
an  army  from  the  North  large  in  numbers  and  splendid 
ly  equipped.  Forts  Henry  and  Donelson  had  fallen  in 
February  before  the  combined  attacks  by  land  and 
water  of  the  Federals,  opening  the  Cumberland  and 
Tennessee  Rivers,  and  resulting  in  the  capitulation  of 
Nashville,  the  capital  of  Tennessee.  The  outlook  was 
a  serious  one  from  a  Southern  standpoint,  and  de 
manded  the  counsel  of  the  wisest,  coolest,  and  most 
courageous  leaders.  The  great  interests  at  stake  in 
duced  the  President  to  summon  General  Lee  from  the 


132  GENERAL   LEE. 

Southern  Department  to  Richmond,  and  on  March  i3th 
he  was  assigned  to  the  position  of  commander  of  the 
armies  of  the  Confederacy  and  charged  with  the  duty  of 
conducting  all  the  military  operations  of  the  Southern 
armies  under  the  direction  of  the  President.  A  few 
months  previous  to  this  his  name  had  been  mentioned 
in  connection  with  the  position  of  Secretary  of  War. 
The  appointment,  however,  was  not  made,  possibly  be 
cause  it  was  considered  unwise  to  confine  such  great 
military  talent  within  the  bureau  of  a  cabinet  officer. 

General  Lee's  youngest  son,  Robert,  eighteen  years 
old  at  this  time,  made  up  his  mind  to  leave  the  Univer 
sity  of  Virginia  and  go  into  the  army.  His  father  gave 
him  permission,  saying  in  a  letter  to  his  wife : 

RICHMOND,  March  16,  1862. 

I  went  with  him  to  get  his  overcoat,  blankets,  etc.  There  is 
great  difficulty  in  getting  what  is  good.  They  have  all  to  be 
made,  and  he  has  gone  to  the  adjutant 'general's  office  of  Vir 
ginia  to  engage  in  the  service.  God  grant  it  may  be  for  his 
good.  I  told  him  of  the  exemption  granted  by  the  Secretary  of 
War  to  the  professors  and  students  of  the  University,  but  he  ex 
pressed  no  desire  to  take  advantage  of  it.  As  I  have  done  all  in 
the  matter  that  seems  proper,  I  must  now  leave  the  rest  in  the 
hands  of  our  merciful  God.  I  hope  our  son  will  make  a  good 
soldier. 

During  that  month  the  Federal  commanders  dis 
played  great  activity.  McClellan's  large  and  well-or 
ganized  army  was  being  transferred  to  the  Peninsula. 
General  Lee  wrote  to  his  wife  from  Richmond,  March 
22,  1862:  "Our  enemies  are  pressing  us  everywhere 
and  our  army  is  in  the  fermentation  of  reorganization. 
I  pray  that  the  great  God  may  aid  us,  and  am  endeavor 
ing  by  every  means  in  my  power  to  bring  out  the  troops 
and  hasten  them  to  their  destination." 

Much  had  happened  during  his  absence  from  Virginia. 
The  campaign  was  subjected  to  new  conditions,  and  the 
location  of  the  two  principal  armies  in  that  State  had 
been  changed.  The  next  battlefield  was  to  be  much 
closer  to  Richmond.  Johnston  and  Beauregard  after 
the  battle  of  Manassas  continued  to  occupy  that  section, 
extending  their  outposts,  however,  closer  to  Washington, 
while  partially  blockading  the  Potomac  River  by  some 


ATLANTIC   COAST   DEFENSES.  133 

heavy  guns  at  a  point  near  the  mouth  of  Quantico  Creek, 
where  the  channel  runs  on  the  Virginia  side. 

The  inactivity  of  this  army  during  the  remainder  of 
the  summer  and  the  fall  months  convinced  the  Fed 
eral  authorities  that  no  offensive  campaign  would  be 
undertaken  by  it.  About  the  latter  part  of  September 
the  Southern  President  visited  the  army  and  held  a  con 
ference  with  Generals  Johnston,  Beauregard,  and  G.  W. 
Smith  in  reference  to  active  operations.  These  officers 
proposed,  General  Johnston  states,  a  plan  to  cross  the 
upper  Potomac  and  place  their  army  in  the  rear  of  Wash 
ington  and  fight  the  battle  there.  They  demanded  that 
the  army  should  be  increased  for  that  purpose  by  troops 
drawn  from  all  parts  of  the  Confederacy,  so  as  to  num 
ber  sixty  thousand  effectives.  These  conditions  the 
President  was  unable  to  comply  with,  so  all  hope  of 
any  advance  was  abandoned,  and  the  army  prepared 
to  go  into  winter  quarters.  Mr.  Davis  frankly  told 
them  that  the  whole  country  was  applying  for  arms  and 
troops,  and  that  he  could  do  no  more  to  increase  the 
strength  of  the  army  at  that  point  than  to  send  it  as 
many  recruits  as  there  were  arms  in  the  ordnance  stores 
at  Richmond — namely,  twenty-five  hundred.  Many  ad 
vantageous  changes  were  now  made  in  the  organization 
of  the  army.  Brigades  were  put  into  divisions  and  placed 
under  such  commanding  officers  as  Van  Dorn,  G.  W. 
Smith,  Longstreet,  T.  J.  Jackson,  and  Holmes.  The 
northern  frontier  of  Virginia  was  formed  into  a  new 
military  department,  and  General  Johnston's  command 
was  extended  to  the  Alleghany  Mountains  on  one  side, 
Chesapeake  Bay  on  the  other,  and  divided  into  three 
districts :  the  Valley,  to  be  commanded  by  T.  J.  Jackson  ; 
the  District  of  the  Potomac,  under  the  immediate  charge 
of  Beauregard;  and  that  section  lying  around  the  mouth 
of  Acquia  Creek  was  placed  under  the  immediate  charge 
of  Major-General  Holmes.  On  August  3ist  the  Presi 
dent  nominated  to  the  Senate  five  persons  to  be  gen 
erals  in  the  Confederate  army:  First,  Samuel  Cooper, 
from  May  15,  1861  ;  second,  A.  S.  Johnston,  May  28th; 
third,  R.  E.  Lee,  June  i4th ;  fourth,  J.  E.  Johnston, 
July  4th;  fifth,  G.  T.  Beauregard,  July  2ist.  Officers 
who  resigned  from  the  United  States  Army  had  been 
10 


134  GENERAL   LEE. 

promised  by  the  Confederate  Government  when  it  was 
first  established  at  Montgomery,  Ala.,  that  they  should 
hold  the  same  relative  rank  to  each  other  when  commis 
sioned  in  the  army  of  the  Confederate  States.  Cooper, 
who  had  been  the  adjutant  general  of  the  United  States 
Army,  was  the  senior  colonel.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston 
resigned  a  colonelcy,  General  Lee  a  colonelcy,  which  he 
had  only  held  a  short  time,  and  Beauregard  a  captaincy. 
General  Joseph  E.  Johnston  but  a  short  time  previous 
to  the  outbreak  of  the  war  had  been  a  lieutenant  colonel 
of  the  First  Cavalry,  United  States  Army,  and  was  ranked 
in  that  army  by  all  the  officers  named  except  Beauregard. 
Upon  the  death  of  General  Jesup,  the  quartermaster  gen 
eral  shortly  before  the  war,  General  Scott  was  asked  to 
recommend  an  officer  to  fill  the  vacancy,  and  he  is  re 
ported  to  have  said  that  if  the  Secretary  of  War  would 
put  into  a  hat  the  names  of  A.  S.  Johnston,  R.  E.  Lee, 
and  J.  E.  Johnston,  and  one  of  said  names  be  taken  out, 
a  good  quartermaster  general  would  be  secured.  Mr. 
John  B.  Floyd,  who  was  the  Secretary  of  War  at  the 
time,  naturally  threw  his  influence  in  favor  of  J.  E. 
Johnston,  as  he  came  from  his  section  of  Virginia  and 
was  a  relative,  and  he  received  the  appointment.  In 
those  days  the  quartermaster  general  had  the  rank  of 
brigadier  general.  When  the  writer  once  asked  Mr. 
Davis  if  J.  E.  Johnston  was  not  entitled  to  be  the  rank 
ing  senior  general  in  the  Southern  army,  he  replied,  "  No, 
because  the  quartermaster  general  was  not  considered 
in  the  line  of  promotion  or  eligible  to  active  work  in  the 
field.  It  was  a  staff  position,  and  by  law  he  could  not 
command  troops  except  by  special  assignment,  and  that 
therefore  I  went  back  to  General  Johnston's  old  rank 
in  determining  the  relative  rank  of  the  five  generals." 

As  the  Confederate  army  showed  no  disposition  to 
enter  upon  an  offensive  campaign,  it  soon  became  an 
interesting  problem  to  the  Washington  authorities  how 
to  defeat  Johnston's  army  and  capture  Richmond.  This 
indisposition  to  attack  gave  McClellan  ample  time  to 
arrange  his  plans,  and  he  took  it.  His  deliberate  meth 
ods  were  very  provoking  to  his  own  Government,  and 
a  matter  of  much  suspense  to  the  one  opposed  to  him. 
He  leisurely  organized  and  equipped  his  army.  The 


ATLANTIC  COAST  DEFENSES.  135 

North  liberally  and  rapidly  responded  to  the  demand  for 
more  men.  For  the  three  months  succeeding  the  battle 
of  Manassas  troops  were  poured  into  the  Department  at 
Washington  at  the  rate  of  40,000  per  month,  so  that  at 
the  end  of  that  period  McClellan  officially  reported  that 
he  had  147,695  men  present  for  duty.  In  December  fol 
lowing,  his  report  shows  175,854  present  for  duty,  and 
in  March,  1862,  171,602,  while  the  army  of  his  opponent 
in  February  had  only  47,306  present  for  duty,  including 
the  force  under  Jackson  in  the  valley  and  a  small  num 
ber  under  Holmes  at  Acquia  Creek,  and  in  March  about 
50,000. 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  why,  with  these  immense 
odds  in  his  favor,  McClellan  did  not  advance  in  the  early 
spring  against  Johnston's  position.  This  plan  was  dis 
cussed  as  well  as  two  or  three  others.  McClellan  at  last, 
it  seems,  told  the  Federal  President  in  positive  language 
that  he  did  not  approve  the  movement  on  Johnston's 
position  at  Centreville,  but  preferred  to  take  his  army 
down  the  Potomac  River  into  Chesapeake  Bay,  up  the 
Rappahannock  River,  and  form  a  base  of  operations  at 
a  place  called  Urbana ;  or,  better  still,  continue  down 
Chesapeake  Bay  and  around  to  Fort  Monroe,  using  that 
formidable  fort  as  a  base,  and  advance  on  Richmond 
from  that  direction  up  the  Peninsula  formed  by  the 
James  and  York  Rivers,  upon  whose  surfaces  the  gun 
boats  of  his  navy  could  be  floated,  and  thus  a  thorough 
protection  be  given  to  his  flanks.  A  solemn  conclave 
of  twelve  general  officers  of  the  Federal  army  consid 
ered  these  various  propositions,  and,  by  a  vote  of  eight 
to  four,  agreed  to  approve  McClellan's  plan  of  the  pen 
insular  route  as  opposed  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  proposition 
for  a  movement  similar  to  the  one  made  by  McDowell. 
The  difficulties  in  the  way  at  the  time  for  a  change  of 
base  to  the  lower  Peninsula  were  the  fact  that  the 
proximity  of  Johnston's  army  to  Washington  seriously 
threatened  the  safety  of  that  city.  In  March,  however, 
General  Johnston  solved  the  problem  by  a  retrograde 
movement  to  the  line  of  the  Rappahannock,  trebling 
his  distance  from  the  Federal  capital.  While  this  re 
treat  gave  up  a  great  deal  of  valuable  country  and 
raised  the  blockade  of  the  Potomac,  its  strategic  ad- 
10 


136  GENERAL   LEE. 

vantages  were  great.  His  army  could  then  be  in  a 
position  to  better  receive  a  direct  advance  from  the 
Federal  troops,  or  could  by  a  rapid  march  prevent  any 
army  which  should  be  transported  by  water  and  landed 
at  points  closer  to  Richmond  from  reaching  that  city 
before  he  could. 

As  soon  as  Johnston  had  retreated  McClellan  ad 
vanced  his  troops  to  the  position  Johnston  had  occupied 
during  the  winter.  They  were  then  countermarched 
and  brought  back  to  Alexandria,  a  Virginia  city  a  few 
miles  below  Washington,  where  arrangements  were  made 
as  rapidly  as  possible  to  transport  them  to  the  Penin 
sula,  Mr.  Lincoln  stipulating  that  at  least  fifty  thousand 
men  should  be  left  in  and  around  Washington  for  its 
immediate  defense.  He  did  not  propose  to  "  exchange 
queens,"  because  the  capture  of  Washington  by  John 
ston  would  be  attended  with  much  greater  results  than 
the  capture  of  Richmond  by  McClellan. 

At  that  time  the  Southern  forces  on  the  Peninsula 
were  under  the  command  of  Major-General  J.  Bankhead 
Magruder,  an  accomplished  and  well-known  officer,  who 
had  formerly  distinguished  himself  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States.  "  Prince  John,"  as  he  was  called,  occu 
pied  a  strong  position  from  river  to  river.  The  em 
barkation  of  McClellan's  troops  began  on  March  i;th, 
and  he  left  in  person  on  April  ist,  reaching  Fortress 
Monroe  on  the  afternoon  of  the  2d.  When  he  ar 
rived  fifty-eight  thousand  men  and  one  hundred  guns 
had  preceded  him.  Magruder  was  a  short  distance  in 
his  front  with  eleven  thousand  men.  His  left  was  at 
Yorktown,  on  York  River,  and  his  line  of  battle  ex 
tended  along  the  Warwick  River  to  Mulberry  Island,  on 
the  James,  where  his  right  rested.  Gloucester  Point, 
opposite  Yorktown,  projects  well  out  into  the  river. 
Fortifications  had  been  constructed  there,  and  it  was 
expected  that  the  guns  at  that  point  as  well  as  those  at 
Yorktown  by  crossfire  could  prevent  the  passage  of  the 
Federals  up  York  River  in  any  attempt  to  reach  the 
Confederate  rear. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  when  the  British  held 
Yorktown  over  a  century  ago  they  also  fortified  and 
held  Gloucester  Point,  and  to  it,  at  one  time,  Corn- 


ATLANTIC   COAST   DEFENSES.  137 

wallis  attempted  to  retreat  when  the  troops  of  Wash 
ington  were  closing  around  him.  Magruder's  front  was 
twelve  miles  long  and  in  many  respects  strong.  In  a 
portion  of  it  the  ground  was  swampy,  while  dams  had 
been  constructed  by  which  the  water  could  be  backed 
up,  rendering  the  passage  of  the  stream  impracticable 
for  artillery  and  infantry  nearly  three  fourths  of  its 
distance.  McClellan  stopped  in  front  of  this  line  on 
April  5th,  having  left  Fort  Monroe  the  day  before. 
Until  he  reached  it  he  was  ignorant  of  its  existence.  In 
addition  to  the  large  army  which  McClellan  proposed 
should  accompany  him  up  the  Peninsula,  was  a  separate 
or  detached  corps  under  McDowell,  over  forty  thousand 
strong,  which  was  intended  to  operate  upon  either  bank 
of  York  River  in  order  to  turn  the  Confederate  posi 
tion,  should  much  resistance  be  offered  to  McClellan's 
advance  on  Richmond.  After  McClellan  left  Washing 
ton,  the  military  governor,  General  Wadsworth,  reported 
to  President  Lincoln  that  he  had  left  only  twenty  thou 
sand  troops  for  its  defense.  This  report,  and  General 
Jackson's  movements  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  alarmed 
the  Federal  authorities,  and  they  immediately  ordered 
McDowell's  corps  to  return  to  Washington.  With  the 
corps  of  McDowell's  added  to  McClellan's  great  army 
the  fall  of  Richmond  might  have  been  accomplished. 

These  movements  of  the  Federal  troops  were  of 
course  speedily  communicated  to  General  Johnston  on 
the  Rappahannock,  and  D.  H.  Hill's,  D.  R.  Jones's, 
and  Early's  divisions  were  put  in  march  to  re-enforce 
Magruder.  General  Beauregard  had  been  detached  from 
Johnston  and  sent  to  Kentucky.  When  later  it  was 
evident  the  Peninsula  would  be  the  route  selected  for 
the  Federal  advance,  Johnston  at  once  proceeded  to  that 
point  with  the  remainder  of  his  army,  except  General 
Ewell's  division,  which  with  a  regiment  of  cavalry  was 
left  on  the  line  of  the  Rappahannock,  and  Jackson's 
division,  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  Had  McClellan  as 
sailed  Magruder's  lines  at  once  his  largely  superior 
numbers  would  have  won  a  victory  in  all  probability, 
though  the  defensive  line  was  a  strong  one.  General 
Johnston  arrived  in  person  April  i4th,  and  assumed  com 
mand  on  the  i yth.  His  advance  did  not  arrive  at  York- 


138  GENERAL   LEE. 

town  till  the  loth,  the  other  divisions  following  a  few 
days  later.  For  six  days  McClellan  was  in  front  of 
Magruder  before  Johnston's  arrival,  but  instead  of  as 
saulting,  he  commenced  arrangements  for  a  dilatory 
siege.  Johnston,  upon  the  arrival  of  all  of  his  troops, 
had,  together  with  Magruder's  forces,  fifty-three  thou 
sand  men ;  McClellan  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  thou 
sand,  including  twelve  thousand  of  Franklin's  division 
on  board  of  transports  in  readiness  to  move  up  York 
River.  He  sat  down  in  front  of  Magruder's  position  to 
await  the  arrival  of  his  siege  trains,  and  began  the  con 
struction  of  scaling  ladders,  which  might  be  useful  to 
assault  permanent  works,  and  the  erection  of  batteries 
for  his  heavy  guns,  much  to  the  annoyance  of  the  Wash 
ington  authorities,  for  the  falling  back  of  his  opponents 
to  new  intrenched  lines  in  rear  would  render  useless 
his  great  guns  and  his  great  labor  in  getting  them  in 
position. 

On  Johnston's  arrival  in  the  Peninsula  he  closely 
examined  the  defensive  lines  of  Magruder,  but  did  not 
like  them,  and  returned  at  once  to  Richmond  to  lay 
his  views  before  his  President.  "  McClellan's  army," 
said  he,  "  should  be  encountered  in  front  of  Richmond 
by  uniting  there  all  the  available  forces  of  the  Confed 
eracy  ;  the  grand  army  thus  formed,  surprising  that  of 
the  United  States  by  an  attack,  when  it  was  expecting 
to  besiege  Richmond,  would  be  almost  certain  to  win." 
Mr.  Davis  declined  to  decide  so  important  a  question 
hastily,  and  asked  General  Johnston  to  call  upon  him  at 
a  stated  hour,  when  he  would  have  Randolph,  his  Secre 
tary  of  War,  and  General  Lee  both  present.  Johnston 
suggested  that  he  invite  Generals  G.  W.  Smith  and 
Longstreet  also,  and  the  conference  was  duly  held. 
The  Secretary  of  War  objected  to  Johnston's  plan  be 
cause  it  involved  the  evacuation  of  Norfolk  and  the 
destruction  of  the  famous  Merrimac,  or  Virginia,  as  she 
was  last  named.  General  Lee  could  not  vote  in  favor 
of  General  Johnston's  proposition  because  the  with 
drawal  of  troops  from  South  Carolina  and  Georgia 
would  expose  the  important  seaports  of  Charleston  and 
Savannah  to  danger  and  capture.  He  thought  that  the 
Peninsula  had  excellent  battlefields  for  a  small  army 


ATLANTIC  COAST   DEFENSES.  139 

contending  with  a  great  one,  and  for  that  reason  ar 
gued  that  the  contest  with  McClellan's  army  should  be 
made  there.  General  G.  W.  Smith  agreed  with  General 
Johnston's  views,  while  Longstreet  took  but  little  part, 
which  Johnston  attributed  to  his  deafness.  Mr.  Davis 
announced  his  decision  in  favor  of  the  opinion  of  Gen 
eral  Lee,  and  ordered  Johnston  to  concentrate  his  army 
on  the  Peninsula  as  soon  as  possible,  giving  him  in 
addition  the  command  of  the  Department  of  Norfolk. 
McClellan  threw  up  an  immense  amount  of  earth  in 
front  of  the  Confederate  position.  Batteries  were 
erected  for  one  hundred  of  the  heaviest  Parrott  guns 
and  thirty  mortars,  the  range  of  some  of  the  former 
being  over  four  miles.  His  big  gun  batteries  were  out 
of  the  reach  of  any  guns  in  Johnston's  army,  and  there 
fore  would  be  unmolested  while  delivering  their  fire.  As 
certaining  that  these  batteries  would  be  ready  for  action 
in  a  few  days,  General  Johnston  gave  orders  to  General 
Huger,  in  command  at  Norfolk,  and  to  General  Lee's 
brother,  Captain  Sydney  Smith  Lee,  of  the  navy,  who 
was  in  command  of  the  Gosport  navy  yard,  to  evacuate 
these  places  and  to  remove  to  a  safe  place  as  much  of 
the  valuable  public  property  as  possible. 

On  May  3d  General  Johnston  issued  his  orders  for 
the  withdrawal  of  his  army  from  the  Yorktown  lines. 
He  had  delayed  McClellan's  advance  for  a  month,  which 
gave  time  to  greatly  strengthen  the  works  around  Rich 
mond,  as  well  as  to  advance  the  preparations  for  the 
great  battle  which  now  was  inevitable.  The  Confed 
erate  army  marched  out  of  its  lines  at  midnight.  The 
rear  guard  of  cavalry  followed  at  daylight. 

This  retreat  of  Johnston's  was  a  surprise  to  Mc 
Clellan.  He  did  not  anticipate  a  retrograde  move 
ment  on  the  part  of  the  Confederates  till  they  should 
have  been  hammered  out  of  their  lines  by  his  big 
guns.  His  pursuit  was  not  commenced  for  six  hours 
after  the  departure  of  the  Southern  rear  guard.  At 
noon  on  the  4th  Johnston's  army  had  only  reached 
Williamsburg  and  its  vicinity.  At  this  point  the  Federal 
advance  encountered  his  rear  guard.  Some  fighting  took 
place  in  the  afternoon,  and  on  the  next  day  a  heavy  con 
flict  ensued  between  portions  of  the  two  armies,  result- 


140  GENERAL   LEE. 

ing  in  the  loss  to  the  Federals  of  twenty-two  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  men,  and  to  the  Confederates  of  twelve 
hundred.  Johnston  then  leisurely  continued  his  retreat. 
A  force  under  Franklin  was  sent  up  York  River  by  Mc- 
Clellan  to  make  an  attempt  to  get  on  his  flank  and  rear. 
When  they  landed  they  were  attacked  and  driven  back 
to  their  boats,  and  held  in  that  position  till  the  whole  of 
Johnston's  force  had  passed  the  threatened  point.  His 
army  was  now  composed  of  four  divisions  under  G.  W. 
Smith,  Magruder,  D.  H.  Hill,  and  Longstreet.  Jackson 
was  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  while  Ewell,  who  had 
been  left  on  the  Rappahannock,  had  retired  to  Gordons- 
ville.  He  could  not  depend,  therefore,  upon  these  two 
commands  for  immediate  re-enforcement. 

It  can  not  be  denied  that  a  battle  fought  at  Rich 
mond  would  liberate  troops  from  other  points  and  thus 
give  additional  re-enforcements  to  Johnston  ;  but  the 
evacuation  of  Norfolk  and  the  destruction  of  the  Vir 
ginia — which  had  been  such  a  protection  to  James 
River — as  well  as  the  moral  effect  of  a  retreat  which 
allowed  a  vast  hostile  army  to  knock  at  the  very  gates 
of  Richmond,  were  undesirable. 

McClellan,  with  his  five  corps  under  Sumner,  Frank 
lin,  Porter,  Heintzelman,  and  Keyes,  slowly  followed 
the  Confederate  army  as  it  fell  back  on  Richmond.  As 
he  arrived  in  its  immediate  vicinity  he  began  to  deploy 
his  legions,  taking  care  to  extend  well  his  right  so  that 
it  might  reach  out  for  McDowell's  junction.  This  offi 
cer,  with  an  army  nearly  equal  to  Johnston's  whole  force, 
was  directly  charged  with  the  protection  of  Washington, 
and  was  specially  instructed  in  any  manoeuvres  he  should 
attempt,  that  the  safety  of  the  Federal  capital  must  be 
steadily  kept  in  view.  From  the  vicinity  of  Washington 
he  moved  out  on  the  line  of  railroad  beyond  Manassas 
to  Culpeper  Court  House.  Ewell,  who  had  been  on  the 
Rappahannock  with  his  division,  was  then  at  Gordons- 
ville,  and  later  went  over  into  the  Shenandoah  Valley 
to  join  Jackson.  There  being  no  enemy  directly  threat 
ening  Washington  then,  McDowell  wisely  marched  to 
Fredericksburg.  He  was  well  located  there,  being  about 
fifty  miles  from  his  capital  and  about  the  same  distance 
from  McClellan's  right  flank.  He  could  therefore  easily 


ATLANTIC  COAST   DEFENSES. 


141 


return  to  Washington,  if  necessary,  or  re-enforce  McClel- 
lan  in  his  attack  on  Richmond. 

In  order  to  watch  this  movement  of  McDowell's, 
General  Joseph  R.  Anderson,  with  nine  thousand  men, 
had  taken  up  a  position  between  Fredericksburg  and 
Richmond,  with  the  object  of  holding  McDowell  in 
check  as  well  as  he  could  with  such  an  inferior  force, 
while  General  Johnston  attacked  McClellan's  army. 
Both  commanders  knew  well  that  if  these  forty-one 
thousand  men  could  be  added  to  the  Federal  army,  the 
capture  of  Richmond  would  follow.  McClellan  at  last 
succeeded  in  getting  orders  issued  from  Washington  for 
McDowell  to  advance  to  his  support.  General  Johnston 
promptly  decided,  upon  this  information  reaching  him, 
to  try  at  once  the  fortunes  of  battle ;  but  was  greatly 
relieved,  when  he  received  word  from  Stuart's  cavalry 
that  McDowell,  after  starting  from  Fredericksburg,  had 
countermarched  and  was  proceeding  in  the  direction  of 
Washington.  A  Confederate  commander  in  the  Valley 
of  Virginia  was  responsible  for  McDowell's  change  of 
direction. 

Thomas  Jonathan  Jackson  was  born  at  Clarksburg, 
Harrison  County,  then  in  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia. 
Thirty-seven  years  afterward  he  was  born  again  on 
the  field  of  Manassas,  and,  amid  the  rifle's  flash  and 
cannon's  roar,  christened  "Stonewall."  Neither  of  the 
two  Governments  lost  sight  of  the  great  importance  of 
the  "Valley  District" — one,  because  Washington  could 
be  easily  reached  by  hostile  troops  from  that  section ; 
the  other,  because  the  force  there  was  a  part  of  Gen 
eral  Johnston's  army,  and  might  enter  into  future  mili 
tary  combinations  as  an  important  factor.  It  was  most 
fortunate  for  the  South  that  Stonewall  Jackson  was 
selected  to  command  this  department.  He  was  com 
bative  ;  his  facial  characteristics,  "  including  a  massive 
iron-bound  jaw,"  have  been  compared  to  those  of  Julius 
Caesar  and  William  of  Normandy.  Activity,  vigilance, 
and  restlessness  were  marked  traits  of  his  character. 
His  thoughts  were  with  God  and  his  cause.  In  camp 
he  organized  prayer  meetings  among  his  soldiers,  and 
when  the  meeting' began,  the  hymn  raised,  and  the  pro 
ceedings  evidently  a  success,  he  often  went  to  sleep. 


142  GENERAL   LEE. 

"  If  silence  be  golden,  he  was  a  bonanza."  It  was  said 
of  him  at  that  time  that  he  sucked  lemons,  ate  hard 
tack  and  drank  water — and  praying  and  fighting  ap 
peared  to  him  to  be  the  whole  duty  of  man.  General 
Ewell,  it  is  related,  once  said  he  admired  Jackson's  ge 
nius,  but  he  never  4<  saw  one  of  his  couriers  approach  him 
without  expecting  an  order  to  assault  the  North  Pole." 

From  a  humble  professor  in  the  Virginia  Military 
Institute  he  rapidly  grew  into  a  giant  of  war.  He  be 
lieved  in  a  short,  sharp,  decisive  contest.  When  first 
appointed  a  professor  he  occupied  a  room  on  one  of  the 
upper  floors  of  barracks.  Some  of  the  cadets,  in  a  mis 
chievous  spirit,  took  away  a  portion  of  the  steps  below 
his  room  during  the  night.  The  next  morning,  having 
an  appointment  to  fill,  he  came  out  at  an  early  hour, 
and,  seeing  what  had  been  done,  without  a  moment's 
hesitation  seized  one  of  the  supporting  posts  and  low 
ered  himself  hand  over  hand.  "  In  civil  war,"  said  he, 
in  1860,  "  when  the  swords  are  drawn  the  scabbards 
should  be  thrown  away  ";  and  he  would  have  fought 
under  the  "  black  flag  "  with  as  pleasant  a  smile  as  his 
countenance  could  assume.  Earnestly  and  conscien 
tiously  believing  the  South  was  right,  in  the  spring  of 
1 86 1  he  was  strongly  inclined  to  war. 

In  some  respects  he  resembled  Blucher  ;  like  him  he 
was  bold,  bluff,  and  energetic,  and,  as  with  Blucher,  his 
loyalty  to  the  cause  he  adopted  was  a  passion.  The 
grim  old  soldier  whom  Wellington  welcomed  at  Water 
loo  smoked,  swore,  and  drank  at  seventy,  and  just  there 
the  resemblance  ceased.  Above  others,  on  either  side, 
Jackson  understood  the  great  value  of  celerity  in  mili 
tary  movements,  and  his  infantry  was  termed  "  foot 
cavalry."  To  be  under  heavy  fire,  he  said,  filled  him 
with  a  "  delicious  excitement."  His  death  afterward, 
at  Chancellorsville,  lost  the  South  Gettysburg;  for  Gen 
eral  Lee  has  said,  "  Had  I  Stonewall  Jackson  at  Gettys 
burg  I  would  have  won  a  great  victory." 

He  was  a  blazing  meteor  of  battle ;  his  enterprising 
and  aggressive  spirit  sought  relief  in  motion — always 
motion.  To  such  a  commander  the  defense  of  the  beau 
tiful  Valley  of  Virginia  was  intrusted. 

After  his  return  from  Romney  he  was  at  Winchester, 


ATLANTIC   COAST   DEFENSES. 


143 


then  Woodstock,  some  forty  miles  below,  then  following 
Shields  from  Strasburg,  and  on  March  23d  attacked 
him  at  Kernstown  and  was  repulsed ;  Banks,  who  was 
on  his  way  from  the  Valley  to  Manassas,  was  ordered 
back  to  destroy  this  bold  soldier;  and  Blenker,  with 
ten  thousand  men  on  his  way  to  Fremont,  was  instruct 
ed  to  report  to  him  as  he  followed  Jackson  up  the  Val 
ley,  where  later  the  latter  took  up  position  at  Swift  Run 
Gap  in  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains,  the  Shenandoah  River 
being  in  his  front,  his  flanks  protected  by  the  mountain 
sides,  while  Ewell  was  not  far  away  across  the  moun 
tains  in  his  rear  at  Gordonsville.  "  Stonewall  "  did  not 
like  to  be  cooped  up  in  the  mountains,  and  wrote  Gen 
eral  Lee  at  Richmond,  asking  him  to  re-enforce  him  with 
five  thousand  men,  intimating  that  he  would  then  be  glad 
to  get  reports  from  him.  On  April  2pth  Lee  replied  that 
his  request  could  not  be  complied  with,  but  suggested 
his  union  with  General  Edward  Johnson,  who  had  some 
thirty-five  hundred  men  near  Staunton.  Lee  was  anx 
ious  to  gain  success  in  the  Valley,  because  it  would  re 
tard  the  offensive  campaign  against  Richmond,  and  in 
formed  Jackson  that  if  he  was  strong  enough  to  hold 
Banks  in  check,  Ewell  might,  by  uniting  with  Anderson's 
force  between  Fredericksburg  and  Richmond,  attack 
and  possibly  destroy  McDowell,  then  at  Fredericksburg. 
Banks  had  some  twenty  thousand  men  at  Harrison- 
burg  watching  General  Edward  Johnson,  and  six  thou 
sand  men,  under  Milroy  and  Schenck,  had  moved  west  of 
the  mountains,  and  were  in  front  of  Johnson,  while  Fre 
mont  was  marching  with  ten  thousand  men  to  join  them. 
Evading  Banks  at  Harrisonburg,  Jackson  moved  to 
Staunton,  joined  his  force  with  Johnson's,  and  defeated 
Milroy  and  Schenck ;  Ewell  marched  then  from  Gor 
donsville  to  the  Valley,  and  Banks  fell  back  to  Stras 
burg.  Jackson,  having  disposed  of  the  two  Federal 
commanders,  returned  with  great  swiftness,  united  with 
Ewell,  defeated  the  Federal  forces  at  Front  Royal,  and 
then  pushed  on  with  great  rapidity  to  attack  Banks, 
who,  hearing  of  his  approach,  fell  back  to  Winchester, 
where  he  was  defeated  and  followed  to  the  Potomac 
River.  The  defeat  of  the  Federal  troops  in  the  Valley, 
and  Jackson's  presence  on  the  Potomac,  produced  con- 


144 


GENERAL   LEE. 


sternation  at  the  Federal  capital.  General  McDowell, 
who  had  commenced  his  march  from  Fredericksburg  to 
join  McClellan,  was  turned  back  toward  Washington, 
being  directed  to  send  twenty  thousand  men  of  his  com 
mand  at  once  to  the  Shenandoah  Valley  to  reinforce 
Fremont,  who  had  moved  down  the  Valley  to  get  in 
Jackson's  rear  and  capture  him.  McClellan  wanted 
McDowell  badly,  and  McDowell  desired  to  go  to  his 
support,  and  both  generals  practically  intimated  to  the 
Washington  authorities  that  they  were  scared;  that  they 
did  not  think  Washington  was  in  danger  of  capture  by 
Jackson,  and  that  moving  a  part  of  McDowell's  troops 
to  the  Shenandoah  Valley  would  not  succeed  in  destroy 
ing  Jackson's  forces. 

Jackson  in  the  mean  time,  having  disposed  of  Banks, 
determined  to  prevent  the  union  of  Shields  (who  had  ar 
rived  from  McDowell's  army)  with  Fremont,  and  by  a 
series  of  brilliant  manoeuvres  fought  the  battles  of  Cross 
Keys  and  Port  Republic,  holding  one  commander  at 
arm's  length  while  he  hammered  the  other.  By  this  ad 
mirable  campaign,  in  which  his  great  military  genius 
was  displayed,  McClellan  was  deprived  of  the  co-opera 
tion  of  McDowell's  army,  while  Jackson  contributed 
largely  to  the  success  of  the  battles  around  Richmond. 

His  splendid  work  in  the  Valley  is  summed  up  by  one 
of  his  biographers :  "  In  three  months  he  had  marched  six 
hundred  miles,  fought  four  pitched  battles,  seven  minor 
engagements,  daily  skirmishes,  defeated  four  armies, 
captured  seven  pieces  of  artillery,  ten  thousand  stand 
of  arms,  four  thousand  prisoners,  and  a  very  great 
amount  of  stores."  His  movements  produced  a  panic 
at  the  Federal  capital.  The  Secretary  of  War  issued 
a  call  to  the  governors  of  the  loyal  States  for  militia 
to  defend  the  city.  On  May  25th,  to  the  Governor 
of  Massachusetts  he  declared  that  "  intelligence  from 
various  quarters  leaves  no  doubt  that  the  enemy  in 
great  force  are  marching  on  Washington.  You  will 
please  organize  and  forward  immediately  all  the  militia 
and  volunteer  forces  in  your  State."  John  A.  Andrew, 
the  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  issued  a  proclamation : 
"  Men  of  Massachusetts,  the  wily  and  barbarous  horde 
of  traitors  menaces  again  the  national  capital."  Todd, 


ATLANTIC   COAST   DEFENSES. 


145 


Ohio's  Governor,  following  suit,  said :  "  To  the  gallant 
men  of  Ohio :  I  have  the  astounding  intelligence  that 
the  city  of  our  beloved  Government  is  threatened  with 
invasion,  and  am  called  upon  by  the  Secretary  of  War 
for  troops  to  repel  the  overwhelming  and  ruthless  in 
vaders." 

Richmond  was  probably  saved  at  that  period  by 
Jackson.  McClellan  determined  to  clear  the  way  for 
McDowell's  march  by  attacking  a  brigade  of  North 
Carolinians  under  Branch,  which  was  then  at  Hanover 
Court  House,  some  fourteen  miles  from  Richmond, 
guarding  and  watching  the  country  in  front  of  John 
ston's  left.  To  make  this  attack  certain,  General  Fitz 
John  Porter  was  given  twelve  thousand  men,  and  par 
tially  accomplished  the  object  of  the  expedition  by 
defeating  Branch  and  destroying  the  bridges  and  rail 
roads  in  the  vicinity  of  Ashland.  Slowly  but  surely 
McClellan  was  diminishing  the  distance  between  the 
lines  of  his  army  and  the  Southern  capital,  and  his  big 
Parrott  guns  were  now  nearly  in  a  position  to  throw  shot 
within  the  walls  of  the  city.  On  May  23d  the  Fourth 
Corps,  under  Keyes,  crossed  the  Chickahominy  at  Bot 
tom's  Bridge  and  took  position  at  a  place  called  Seven 
Pines,  some  five  miles  from  the  city  ;  the  Third  Corps, 
under  Heintzelman,  followed.  The  Chickahominy  now 
divided  McClellan's  army  into  two  parts.  Two  of  his 
corps  were  on  the  south,  and  three — Sumner's,  Frank 
lin's,  and  Porter's — on  the  north  side,  McClellan's  head 
quarters  being  at  Gaines  Mill.  The  Chickahominy 
River  rises  some  twelve  miles  northwest  of  Richmond, 
flows  in  an  easterly  direction  at  first,  and  then  takes  a 
southeasterly  course,  till  it  empties  into  the  James,  some 
thirty  miles  below  Richmond.  It  was  directly  inter 
posed  between  McClellan  and  Richmond,  being  in  some 
places  not  more  than  four  or  five  miles  from  the  city, 
and  the  numerous  roads  leading  out  from  Richmond  to 
the  Peninsula  and  adjacent  sections  of  country  cross  it 
on  bridges.  North  of  Richmond  was  Meadow  Bridge ; 
a  little  farther  down,  and  opposite  to  Gaines  Mill,  New 
Bridge  ;  still  farther  down,  where  the  Williamsburg  road 
crosses  the  Chickahominy,  Bottom's  Bridge ;  while  lower 
down  still  is  Long  Bridge. 


I46  GENERAL   LEE. 

McClellan  spent  two  weeks  in  traversing  the  forty 
miles  from  Williamsburg  to  the  Chickahominy  at  Bot 
tom's  and  New  Bridges.  His  base  of  supplies  was 
established  at  West  Point ;  his  stores  could  be  safely 
transported  by  water,  and  from  West  Point  the  railroad 
running  to  Richmond  had  been  put  in  good  order  in  his 
rear,  so  that  his  supplies  could  be  easily  brought  within 
reach  for  distribution.  The  Chickahominy  proper  af 
forded  no  greater  obstacle  to  the  advance  of  an  army 
than  an  ordinary  small  river,  the  obstruction  being  the 
swamps  and  bottom  lands.  The  stream  flowed  through 
a  belt  of  heavy  timbered  swamp,  which  averaged  three 
hundred  or  four  hundred  yards  wide,  sometimes  in  a 
single  channel  and  sometimes  in  two  or  three,  and  the 
water  when  high  overflowed  the  land. 

The  Federal  army  having  large  pontoon  trains,  as 
well  as  facilities  for  making  trestle  bridges,  surmounted 
these  difficulties.  After  two  of  McClellan's  corps  crossed 
this  stream  and  took  position  nearer  to  Richmond,  it 
was  evident  the  battle  could  be  no  longer  postponed. 
General  Johnston  therefore  decided  to  attack  these  ad 
vance  corps,  and  if  possible  overwhelm  them  before 
they  could  be  re-enforced  by  any  portion  of  the  three 
corps  upon  the  other  side  of  the  Chickahominy.  The 
heavy  rains  had  swept  away  the  communicating  bridges 
between  the  two  wings  of  McClellan's  army,  but  the 
railroad  bridge,  which  had  been  repaired,  was  not  affect 
ed  by  the  swollen  condition  of  the  stream.  On  it  planks 
were  laid,  and  in  that  way  the  left  wing  supplied. 

The  battle  of  Seven  Pines,  or  Fair  Oaks,  was  well 
planned,  and  had  the  Southern  attack  been  made  in  the 
forenoon  instead  of  the  afternoon,  Johnston  would  have 
had  greater  success.  "  It  can  never  be  too  often  re 
peated  that  war,  however  adorned  by  splendid  strokes 
of  skill,  is  commonly  a  series  of  errors  and  accidents." 
Sumner  succeeded  in  crossing  his  corps  over  the 
bridges  trembling  with  the  current's  rush,  and  over 
causeways  on  each  side  covered  with  mud  and  water. 
His  guns  had  to  be  unlimbered  and  prolonges  used, 
while  the  men  who  were  tugging  at  the  ropes  were 
nearly  waist  deep  in  some  places  in  the  water.  It  can 
not  be  said  that  this  battle  was  a  complete  success  for 


ATLANTIC  COAST  DEFENSES.  147 

the  Southern  arms.  Stunner's  arrival  enabled  the  other 
two  Federal  corps  to  maintain  their  ground  until  the 
curtain  of  night  lowered  on  the  scene.  Ten  pieces  of 
artillery,  sixty-seven  hundred  rifles  and  muskets,  and 
quantities  of  stores  and  tents  were,  however,  secured  by 
the  Confederates.  The  two  corps  of  the  Federals  num 
bered  thirty-eight  thousand,  and  after  Sumner's  re-en 
forcements  arrived,  fifty-six  thousand.  The  former  lost 
some  six  thousand  men,  the  latter  fifty-seven  hundred 
and  thirty-nine ;  and  McClellan  had  received  a  check  to 
his  "  On  to  Richmond  !  " 

Johnston,  after  giving  orders  to  his  troops  to  sleep 
on  the  ground  they  occupied  when  the  contest  for  the 
night  ceased,  and  to  renew  the  battle  at  dawn  the  next 
morning,  was  wounded,  at  first  slightly  in  the  shoulder 
by  a  musket  ball,  and  a  few  moments  afterward  was 
struck  on  the  breast  by  a  heavy  fragment  of  shell, 
knocked  from  his  horse,  and  had  to  be  carried  from  the 
field  in  an  ambulance.  General  Gustavus  W.  Smith,  the 
next  officer  in  rank,  immediately  assumed  command  of 
the  army.  He  determined  to  carry  out  Johnston's  plans 
and  continue  the  attack  on  the  next  day,  and  so  informed 
General  Lee,  asking  for  all  the  assistance  he  could  give 
him.  In  a  note  dated  Richmond,  June  ist,  5  A.  M., 
General  Lee  replies : 

Ripley  will  be  ordered,  and  such  forces  from  General  Holmes 
as  can  be  got  up  will  be  sent ;  your  determination  to  strike  the 
enemy  is  right.  Try  and  ascertain  his  position  and  how  best  he 
can  be  hit.  It  will  be  a  glorious  thing  if  you  can  gain  a  com- 

Elete  victory.     Our  success  on  the  whole,  yesterday,  was  good, 
ut  not  complete. 

Truly,  R.  E.  LEE,  General. 

To  General  G.  W.  SMITH,  Commander  of  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia. 

When  that  note  was  penned,  General  Lee  knew  he 
had  been  directed  to  take  command  of  the  army  on  that 
day;  he  did  not  reach  Smith's  headquarters  until  2  P.M., 
and  was  magnanimous  enough  to  wish  that  Smith  should 
gain  and  get  the  credit  for  a  great  victory. 

The  attack  on  June  ist  was  not  made  as  contem 
plated  by  General  Johnston  first  and  Smith  afterward, 
because  it  was  apparent  that  the  destruction  of  a  portion 


148  GENERAL   LEE. 

of  McClellan's  army  before  it  could  be  succored  was  no 
longer  a  possibility.  There  was  no  demoralization  in 
the  Confederate  ranks  anywhere,  and  the  assertion  that 
the  Federal  army  could  have  gone  into  Richmond  on  the 
second  day — June  ist — can  not  be  maintained.  General 
G.  W.  Smith,  commanding,  sums  up  the  fighting  on  that 
day  by  saying :  "  The  Federals,  in  position,  were  at 
tacked  on  the  first  day  of  June  by  but  two  Confederate 
brigades.  That  attack  was  repulsed.  Four  Federal 
regiments  then  advanced  and  attacked  the  position  held 
by  one  Confederate  brigade.  These  four  regiments 
were  withdrawn  from  the  front  of  that  brigade."  Only 
small  portions  of  either  army  were  engaged  on  the  first 
of  June. 

The  battle  on  the  Williamsburg  road  on  the  day  be 
fore  was  fought  by  D.  H.  Hill  with  four  of  his  brigades 
and  one  of  General  Longstreet's.  The  other  five  of 
Longstreet's  and  the  whole  of  Huger's  division,  which 
General  Longstreet  was  expected  to  employ,  were  not 
put  into  the  fight,  while  the  troops  charged  with  the 
duty  of  attacking  the  Federal  right  were  advanced  too 
late  to  be  of  service.  Napier  has  well  said  that  "  he 
who  wars  walks  in  a  mist  through  which  the  keenest 
eye  can  not  always  discern  the  right  path."  If  the  in 
complete  battle  of  Seven  Pines  or  Fair  Oaks  did  not 
add  to  the  military  fame  of  the  Union  commander  or 
to  that  of  the  officer  charged  with  the  details  of  the 
attack  on  the  Confederate  side,  it  was  nevertheless  of 
benefit  to  the  Southern  commander,  for  it  kept  McClel- 
lan  quiet  for  a  month,  and  enabled  him  to  complete  his 
preparations  to  beat  him. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

COMMANDS    THE    ARMY    DEFENDING    RICHMOND,    AND 
SEVEN    DAYS    BATTLES. 

GENERAL  LEE  and  Mr.  Davis  were  on  the  field  on 
May  3ist,  and  the  latter  was  at  once  informed  of  Gen 
eral  Johnston's  being  wounded.  Riding  back  with 
General  Lee  to  Richmond  that  night,  Mr.  Davis  told 
him  he  proposed  to  assign  him  at  once  to  the  command 
of  the  Confederate  army  defending  Richmond,  and 
would  make  out  the  order  as  soon  as  he  reached  the 
city.  Accordingly,  very  early  the  next  morning  Gen 
eral  Lee  received  the  following : 

RICHMOND,  VA.,  June  i,  1862. 
General  R.  E.  Lee. 

SIR  :  The  unfortunate  casualty  which  has  deprived  the  army 
in  front  of  Richmond  of  its  immediate  commander,  General 
Johnston,  renders  it  necessary  to  interfere  temporarily  with  the 
duties  to  which  you  were  assigned  in  connection  with  the  general 
service,  but  only  so  far  as  to  make  you  available  for  command  in 
the  field  of  a  particular  army.  You  will  assume  command  of  the 
army  in  eastern  Virginia  and  in  North  Carolina,  and  give  such 
orders  as  may  be  needful  and  proper. 

Very  respectfully,  JEFFERSON  DAVIS. 

On  the  reception  of  this  note,  General  Lee  pub 
lished 

Special  Orders  No.  22. 

HEADQUARTERS,  RICHMOND,  VA.,  June  i,  1862. 
In  pursuance  of  the  orders  of  the  President,  General  R.  E.  Lee 
assumes  command  of  the  armies  of  eastern  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina.  The  unfortunate  casualty  that  has  deprived  the  army 
in  front  of  Richmond  of  the  valuable  services  of  its  able  general 
is  not  more  deeply  deplored  by  any  member  of  the  command 
than  by  its  present  commander.  He  hopes  his  absence  will  be 

ii  (149) 


150  GENERAL  LEE. 

but  temporary,  and  while  he  will  endeavor  to  the  best  of  his 
ability  to  perform  his  duties,  he  feels  he  will  be  totally  inadequate 
to  the  task  unless  he.  shall  receive  the  cordial  support  of  every 
officer  and  man. 

By  order  of  General  Lee. 

W.  H.  TAYLOR,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

On  June  2d  Special  Orders  No.  126  were  issued  from 
the  Adjutant  and  Inspector  General's  office. 

Special  Orders  No.  126. 

RICHMOND,  VA.,  June  2,  1862. 

By  direction  of  the  President,  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  Confed 
erate  States  army,  will  assume  the  immediate  command  of  the 
armies  in  eastern  Virginia  and  North  Carolina. 
By  command  of  the  Secretary  of  War. 

JOHN  WITHERS,  Assistant  Adjutant  General. 

At  an  early  hour  on  June  ist  the  Southern  President 
rode  to  the  front  to  direct,  in  person,  General  Smith  to 
transfer  the  command  of  the  army  to  General  Lee,  in 
order  to  relieve  the  latter  from  the  embarrassment  of 
first  announcing  this  change.  Later  General  Lee  rode 
out,  reaching  the  field  about  two  o'clock,  and  formally 
assumed  command  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia, 
which  he  was  thereafter  destined  to  lead  against  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  on  many  hard-fought  fields.  Eighteen 
hours  afterward  General  G.  W.  Smith,  whose  health  had 
not  been  strong,  was  taken  ill,  and  had  to  be  relieved  of 
all  military  duty. 

At  last,  one  year  after  the  commencement  of  the  war, 
Robert  E.  Lee  was  in  active  command  of  a  large  army 
in  the  field.  His  task  was  difficult,  his  responsibility 
great.  The  opposing  hosts  were  thundering  at  the 
city's  gates.  Inch  by  inch  they  had  crept  so  close  that 
spectators  on  the  housetops  could  see  their  fire-fringed 
lines  and  hear  the  angry  roar  of  their  cannon.  Upon 
his  shoulders  rested  the  safety  of  his  capital.  With 
quiet  dignity  he  assumed  his  duties.  The  troops  were 
immediately  ordered  back  to  their  former  stations,  and 
the  battle  of  Seven  Pines  was  confided  to  the  Muse  of 
History.  The  next  move  on  the  military  chessboard 
absorbed  his  immediate  attention.  The  strongly  con 
structed  battle  lines  of  his  powerful  enemy  were  uncom- 


COMMANDS  THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND.   151 

fortably  close.  McClellan  had  already  commenced  to 
strengthen  his  front  at  Seven  Pines.  Franklin's  corps 
was  brought  from  the  north  to  the  south  side  of  the 
Chickahominy  and  posted  on  the  right  of  that  portion 
of  his  line.  On  the  left  was  Sumner,  and  to  his  left 
Heintzelman  extended  as  far  as  the  White  Oak  swamp. 
In  their  rear  Keyes  was  in  reserve.  On  the  north  or  left 
bank  of  the  Chickahominy  Fitz  John  Porter's  corps  was 
still  stationed,  near  Gaines  Mill,  with  McCall's  division 
of  Pennsylvania  reserves  at  Mechanicsville  and  on  Bea 
ver  Dam  Creek — eleven  divisions  in  all.  Richmond,  Mc- 
Clellan's  coveted  prize,  was  but  five  miles  away.  To 
reach  it  he  had  to  pass  over  the  lines  of  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia.  These  lines  were  held  by  five  divi 
sions — A.  P.  Hill's  on  the  left  at  Meadow  Bridge,  Hu- 
ger's  and  Magruder's  next,  supported  by  Longstreet's 
and  D.  H.  Hill's.  Lee  at  once  considered  the  best  man 
ner  to  attack.  The  intrenchments  in  his  front  were  too 
strong  for  a  direct  assault,  so  the  only  alternative  left 
was  to  turn  one  or  both  of  his  enemy's  flanks.  The  Fed 
eral  left  was  "  Defended  by  a  line  of  strong  works,  access 
to  which,  except  by  a  few  narrow  roads,  was  obstructed 
by  felling  the  dense  forests  in  front."  These  roads  were 
commanded  to  a  great  distance  by  heavy  guns  in  the 
fortifications.  The  difficulties  here  were  as  great  as 
would  be  encountered  in  a  direct  attack.  The  only  way 
to  get  at  McClellan  was  by  assaulting  his  right,  and  the 
Confederate  commander  was  not  long  in  finding  it  out. 
In  order  to  do  this  successfully  he  must  fortify  his  lines, 
particularly  his  center  and  right,  so  that  they  could  suc 
cessfully  resist  any  attack  made  upon  them,  while  his 
left  wing  was  withdrawn  to  be  thrown  on  the  Federal 
right  and  rear. 

In  Lee,  as  with  McClellan,  the  military  engineer  was 
combined  with  the  army  commander.  Earthworks  were 
rapidly  constructed.  The  topographical  features  of  the 
country  were  scientifically  made  available  ;  and  ere  many 
days  had  passed  the  Southern  troops  were  everywhere 
behind  strong  intrenchments,  while  between  them  and 
the  city  was  a  line  of  more  permanent  works,  which  had 
been  constructed  some  time  before  as  a  precautionary 
measure,  and  behind  which  the  troops  could  be  rallied 
11 


152 


GENERAL   LEE. 


if  the  first  lines  were  successfully  assailed.  Almost  every 
day  now  a  soldierly  looking  man,  clad  in  a  neat  but  sim 
ple  gray  uniform,  conspicuous  by  the  absence  of  the 
wreath,  gold  braids  and  stars  usually  found  on  the  uni 
forms  of  general  officers,  sitting  his  horse  like  a  dragoon, 
might  be  seen  riding  along  the  lines.  No  long  column 
of  staff  or  couriers  followed  him,  no  display,  no  ostenta 
tion,  none  of  the  pomp  of  war.  His  enemy's  right  was 
the  place  to  attack,  but  where  was  it  located  and  how 
was  it  defended  ?  Were  the  roads  leading  to  it  ob 
structed,  and  were  the  woods  "slashed,"  or  would  the 
attacking  column  have  to  assault  lunettes,  redans,  ir 
regular  pentagons,  and  inclosed  redoubts  ?  How  was  he 
to  ascertain  all  this?  Fortunately  he  had  the  very  offi 
cer  in  his  army  who  could  obtain  replies  to  these  impor 
tant  questions,  and  he  was  the  commander  of  his  cav 
alry,  James  Ewell  Brown  Stuart,  commonly  called  Jeb 
Stuart  from  the  three  first  initial  letters  of  his  name. 
This  distinguished  cavalryman  was  a  native  of  Patrick 
County,  Va.,  a  graduate  at  West  Point  of  the  class  of 
1854,  and  a  soldier  from  the  feathers  in  his  hat  to 
the  rowels  of  his  spurs.  He  was  twenty-nine  years 
old  when  Lee  ordered  him  to  locate  McClellan's  right 
flank  and  in  the  full  vigor  of  a  robust  manhood.  His 
brilliant  courage,  great  activity,  immense  endurance,  and 
devotion  to  his  profession  had  already  marked  him  as  a 
cavalry  commander  of  unquestioned  merit.  He  had  the 
fire,  zeal,  and  capacity  of  Prince  Rupert,  but,  like  him, 
lacked  caution ;  the  dash  of  Murat,  but  was  sometimes 
rash  and  imprudent;  was  as  skillful  and  vigorous  as 
Frederick  the  Great's  celebrated  cavalry  leader,  and, 
like  Seidlitz,  was  willing  to  break  the  necks  of  some 
of  his  men  by  charging  over  rough  ground  if  he  made 
bold  horsemen  of  the  rest  and  gained  his  object.  He 
would  have  gone  as  far  as  Cardigan,  with  "cannon  to 
right  of  him,  cannon  to  left  of  him,  cannon  in  front  of 
him."  He  was  a  Christian  dragoon — an  unusual  com 
bination.  His  Bible  and  tactics  were  his  text-books.  He 
never  drank  liquor,  having  given  a  promise  to  his  mother 
to  that  effect  when  a  small  boy,  but  when  wet  from 
the  storm  and  wearied  from  the  march  he  would  drink, 
without  cream  or  sugar,  the  contents  of  a  tin  quart 


COMMANDS  THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND.   153 

cup  of  strong  coffee.  Duty  was  his  guiding  star.  Once 
when  on  the  eve  of  an  expected  battle  he  was  tele 
graphed  that  his  child  was  dying  and  urged  to  go  to  her, 
he  replied:  "I  shall  have  to  leave  my  child  in  the  hands 
of  God  ;  my  duty  requires  me  here."  Lee  knew  him 
well.  He  had  been  a  classmate  at  the  United  States 
Military  Academy  of  his  eldest  son,  and  was  his  aid-de 
camp  when  John  Brown  was  captured.  Such  was  the 
man  who  stood  before  his  commander  on  June  n,  1862, 
to  receive  his  instructions.  The  next  morning,  at  an 
early  hour,  Stuart  was  in  the  saddle,  and,  with  twelve 
hundred  cavalry  and  a  section  of  artillery,  started  to 
blaze  the  way  for  Stonewall  Jackson's  descent  on  the 
right  rear  of  the  Federal  army,  and  for  an  assault  on 
the  Federal  right  by  the  left  wing  of  the  Confederate 
army.  That  night  he  went  into  camp  twenty-two  miles 
north  of  Richmond.  His  line  of  march  conveyed  the 
impression  that  he  had  been  sent  to  re-enforce  Jackson 
in  the  Valley,  but  the  next  day  the  head  of  his  column 
was  turned  eastward  toward  Hanover  Court  House, 
which  he  reached  about  nine  o'clock,  driving  out  a  body  of 
the  enemy's  cavalry.  Between  that  point  and  Old  Church 
his  advance  squadron,  under  Captain  Latane,  met  and 
charged  a  squadron  of  regular  cavalry  under  Captain 
Royall.  Latane  was  killed,  and  Royall  severely  wounded 
by  a  saber  cut  and  his  squadron  put  to  flight.  The 
Southern  cavalry  now  followed  rapidly  to  Old  Church, 
where  the  Federal  cavalry  made  another  stand,  but  was 
soon  driven  from  its  position.  Stuart  was  now  far  enough 
on  the  right  flank  of  the  Federal  army  to  get  all  the  in 
formation  he  desired.  He  could  return  only  by  the  way 
he  had  marched,  which  would  be  attended  with  much 
danger,  as  the  troops  on  that  flank  were  thoroughly 
roused,  or  make  the  entire  circuit  of  the  Federal  army. 
He  determined  upon  the  latter  course,  and,  in  defiance 
of  many  dangers  and  difficulties,  succeeded  in  moving 
his  whole  command  not  only  around  the  right  of  Mc- 
Clellan's  line  of  battle,  but  along  his  rear  and  around  his 
left,  bringing  it  in  safety  to  the  Richmond  lines.  It  was 
hazardous,  because  any  prolongation  of  McClellan's 
left  from  White  Oak  swamp  to  James  River  would  have 
cut  him  off  from  his  own  army. 


154 


GENERAL   LEE. 


This  celebrated  raid  brought  the  Southern  cavalry 
leader  prominently  before  the  public,  and  his  rapid  and 
successful  march  received  favorable  comment.  From 
the  left  of  his  own  army  he  had  marched  for  Hanover 
Court  House,  Old  Church,  Tunstall's  Station,  on  the 
York  River  Railroad,  and  Talleysville,  to  the  lower 
Chickahominy,  where  the  road  from  Providence  Forge 
to  Charles  City  Court  House  crosses  it  thirty-five  miles 
from  Richmond.  Finding  that  the  bridge  had  been  car 
ried  away  by  the  swollen  stream,  he  tore  down  an  old 
barn  in  the  vicinity,  and,  as  rapidly  as  his  men  could 
work,  threw  over  another  bridge,  upon  which  he  crossed 
men  and  guns,  returning  to  his  quarters  near  Rich 
mond,  having  been  continuously  in  the  saddle  for  thirty- 
six  hours.  The  whole  distance  was  traversed  in  forty- 
eight  hours,  with  but  a  single  halt  after  reaching  the 
south  bank  of  the  Chickahominy.  He  was  enjoined  by 
Lee  to  "remember  that  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  the 
expedition  is  to  gam  intelligence  for  the  guidance  of 
future  movements." 

The  news  of  this  expedition  amazed  the  North.  It 
did  not  understand  how  twelve  hundred  troopers  could 
ride  so  close  to  the  right,  rear,  and  left  of  one  hundred 
and  fifteen  thousand  men  in  line  of  battle  without  being 
killed  or  captured.  In  his  march  he  had  crossed  all 
roads  leading  to  McClellan's  right,  and  located  his  lines 
of  communication.  General  Lee's  General  Orders  No. 
74  in  part  read : 

HEADQUARTERS,  ARMY  OF  NORTHERN  VIRGINIA. 
The  commanding  general  announces  with  great  satisfaction 
to  the  army  the  brilliant  exploit  of  Brigadier-General  J.  E.  B. 
Stuart  with  part  of  the  troops  under  his  command.  This  gallant 
officer,  with  portions  of  the  First,  Fourth,  and  Ninth  Virginia 
Cavalry,  and  part  of  the  Jeff  Davis  Legion,  with  the  Boykin  Ran 
gers  and  a  section  of  the  Stuart  Horse  Artillery,  on  June  I3th, 
I4th,  and  I5th,  made  a  reconnoissance  between  the  Pamunkey  and 
Chickahominy  Rivers  and  succeeded  in  passing  around  the  rear 
of  the  whole  of  the  Union  army,  routing  the  enemy  in  a  series  of 
skirmishes,  taking  a  number  of  prisoners,  destroying  and  captur 
ing  stores  to  a  large  amount.  Having  most  successfully  accom 
plished  its  object,  the  expedition  recrossed  the  Chickahominy, 
almost  in  the  presence  of  the  enemy,  with  the  same  coolness  and 
address  that  marked  every  step  of  his  progress,  and  with  the  loss 


COMMANDS  THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND,  i$$ 

of  but  one  man,  the  lamented  Captain  Latane,  of  the  Ninth  Vir 
ginia  Cavalry,  who  fell  bravely  leading  a  successful  charge  against 
a  force  of  the  enemy.  In  announcing  the  signal  success  to  the 
army,  the  general  commanding  takes  great  pleasure  in  expressing 
his  admiration  of  the  courage  and  skill  so  conspicuously  exhibited 
throughout  by  the  general  and  the  officers  and  men  under  his 
command. 

General  Lee  had  secured,  by  this  brilliant  exploit 
of  Stuart's,  the  information  he  desired.  As  early  as 
June  8th  he  had  suggested  to  the  Secretary  of  War 
that  "  Jackson  be  prepared  to  unite  with  the  army  near 
Richmond,  if  called  on."  The  next  day  he  announced 
to  the  Secretary  of  War  "  a  glorious  victory  by  the  gal 
lant  Jackson  and  his  troops,"  and  writes  to  him  that  re- 
enforcements  should  be  sent  to  Jackson  to  enable  him 
to  take  the  offensive  again.  The  i  ith  of  June  was  a  busy 
day.  Lee  first  prepared  the  instructions  to  start  Stuart 
on  his  expedition,  and  then  wrote  Jackson  as  follows  : 

HEADQUARTERS  NEAR  RICHMOND,  June  n,  1862. 
Brigadier-General    THOMAS  J.   JACKSON,    Commanding  the 

Valley  District. 

GENERAL  :  Your  recent  successes  have  been  the  cause  of  the 
liveliest  joy  to  this  army,  as  well  as  to  the  country.  The  admira 
tion  caused  by  your  skill  and  boldness  has  been  constantly  min 
gled  with  solicitude  for  your  situation.  The  practicability  of  re- 
enforcing  you  has  been  the  subject  of  earnest  consideration.  It 
has  been  determined  to  do  so  at  the  expense*  of  weakening  this 
army.  Brigadier-General  Lawton,  with  six  regiments  from  Geor 
gia,  is  on  the  way  to  you,  and  Brigadier-General  Whiting,  with 
eight  veteran  regiments,  leaves  here  to-day.  The  object  is  to 
enable  you  to  crush  the  forces  opposed  to  you,  then  leave  your 
unavailable  troops  to  watch  the  country  and  guard  the  passes 
covered  by  your  cavalry  and  artillery  and  with  your  main  body, 
including  Ewell's  division  and  Lawton's  and  Whiting's  command, 
move  rapidly  to  Ashland  by  rail  or  otherwise,  as  you  may  find 
most  advantageous,  and  sweep  down  between  the  Chickahominy 
and  Pamunkey,  cutting  up  the  enemy's  communications,  while 
this  army  attacks  General  McClellan  in  front.  He  will  thus,  I 
think,  be  forced  to  come  out  of  his  intrenchments,  where  he  is 
strongly  posted  on  the  Chickahominy,  and  apparently  prepared 
to  move  by  gradual  approaches  on  Richmond.  Keep  me  advised 
of  your  movements,  and,  if  practicable,  precede  your  troops,  that 
we  may  confer  and  arrange  for  simultaneous  attack.  I  am,  with 
great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)  R.  E.  LEE,  General. 


156  GENERAL   LEE. 

On  the  same  day,  Lee  writes  to  Randolph,  the  Sec 
retary  of  War  at  Richmond  : 

HEADQUARTERS,  DOBB'S  HOUSE,  June  n,  1862. 

Honorable  GEORGE  W.  RANDOLPH,  Secretary  of  War,  Rich 
mond,  Va. 

SIR  :  It  is  very  desirable  and  important  that  the  acquisition  of 
troops  to  the  command  of  Major-General  T.  J.  Jackson  should 
be  kept  secret.  With  this  view  I  have  the  honor  to  request  that 
you  will  use  your  influence  with  the  Richmond  newspapers  to 
prevent  any  mention  of  the  same  in  the  public  prints.  I  am,  most 
respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

(Signed)  R.  E.  LEE. 

The  Southern  commander  desired  to  give  Jackson  a 
sufficient  force  to  enable  him  to  fight  a  decisive  battle 
in  the  Valley,  and  then,  before  his  enemy  could  recover, 
watch  him  with  a  picket  line  while  he  reported  at  Rich 
mond  with  the  greater  part  of  his  effective  forces.  Lee 
wished  the  first  information  of  the  arrival  of  Whiting 
and  Lawton  to  Jackson  to  be  given  to  his  enemy  by  a 
victory  in  the  Valley.  On  this  day,  too,  he  published 
Special  Orders  No.  130,  Headquarters,  Northern  Vir 
ginia,  June  n,  1862,  directing  Brigadier-General  W.  H. 
C.  Whiting,  with  two  brigades  of  Smith's  division  to  be 
selected  by  himself,  to  report  to  General  T.  J.  Jackson, 
commanding  the  Army  of  the  Valley.  He  directed  that 
this  command  be  detached  for  temporary  special  ser 
vice,  and  that  it  should  move  in  light  marching  order. 
Three  days  after  these  various  instructions  were  issued, 
General  Lee  decided  that  it  would  not  do  to  wait  for 
Jackson  to  fight  before  he  should  bring  him  to  the  army 
in  front  of  Richmond,  and  told  him  to  form  a  junction 
at  once,  and  "  to  be  efficacious,  the  movement  must  be 
secret."  This  detachment  of  troops  from  Lee's  army, 
then  in  front  of  his  powerful  antagonist,  did  not  pro 
duce  in  the  Southern  mind  a  feeling  of  uneasiness;  so 
great  was  the  confidence  in  the  Southern  leader  that  the 
movement,  without  knowing  for  what  intended,  was  con 
sidered  proper,  timely,  and  judicious!  Lee's  object  was 
to  render  the  diversion  of  McDowell  from  McClellan's 
army  more  decided  by  re-enforcing  the  commander 
whose  victories  had  already  directed  the  attention  of 
the  Federal  authorities  from  the  capture  of  Richmond 


COMMANDS  THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND. 

to  their  own  security  at  Washington.  Mr.  Lincoln  tele 
graphed  McClellan  on  June  2oth  that  Jackson  is  being 
heavily  re-enforced  from  Richmond,  and  that  he  did  not 
think  he  could  send  him  more  troops.  Two  days  pre 
vious  McClellan  had  informed  Lincoln  that  some  ten 
thousand  troops  from  Lee's  army  had  been  sent  to  Jack 
son,  to  which  the  Union  President  replied  that  if  the 
report  were  true,  it  would  be  as  good  as  a  re-enforce 
ment  to  him  of  an  equal  force,  and  that  he  would  be 
glad  to  be  informed  what  day  he  would  attack  Rich 
mond.  While  these  telegrams  were  being  exchanged 
Jackson  was  rapidly  moving  to  the  support  of  Lee. 
The  main  portion  of  his  army  left  the  Valley  on  June 
i8th,  marching  by  Charlottesville  and  Gordonsville, 
which  latter  place  was  reached  on  the  2ist.  Jackson, 
leaving  his  army  to  follow,  took  an  express  car  accom 
panied  only  by  his  chief  of  staff,  who,  strange  to  say, 
was  not  a  military  man,  but  a  Presbyterian  minister  and 
a  professor  in  a  theological  seminary.  When  Sunday 
morning,  June  22d,  dawned,  Jackson,  with  his  ministerial 
aid,  had  reached  Frederickshall,  a  point  on  the  Central 
Railroad,  now  called  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio,  some 
fifty-two  miles  from  Richmond.  Being  the  Sabbath,  and 
against  his  religious  convictions  to  travel  on  Sunday,  he 
left  his  car  and  went  to  a  gentleman's  house  and  re 
mained  quiet  that  day,  except  that  he  attended  camp 
services  of  some  of  the  troops  stationed  near  there  in 
the  afternoon.  Not  desiring  to  be  transported  to  Rich 
mond  in  a  car,  as  he  might  be  recognized,  he  determined 
to  proceed  the  rest  of  his  journey  on  horseback ;  and 
accordingly  at  one  o'clock  Monday  morning  he  mounted 
a  horse  and  started  with  a  single  borrowed  courier  for 
General  Lee's  headquarters  near  Richmond,  fifty-two 
miles  away.  He  had  requested  Major  Dabney  to  get 
from  the  senior  officer  an  order  to  impress  horses  on 
the  way,  and  also  a  pass,  in  case  he  should  get  into  the 
pickets  of  General  Lee's  army.  At  3  p.  M.  on  Monday, 
the  23d,  he  had  covered  the  whole  distance,  and,  travel- 
stained,  dusty,  and  weary  from  riding  all  night,  he  par 
ticipated  in  a  conference  called  that  afternoon  by  Gen 
eral  Lee,  of  the  commanding  officers  of  the  divisions 
he  proposed  should  attack  McClellan's  right  and  rear, 


158  GENERAL   LEE. 

namely,  Longstreet,  D.  H.  Hill,  and  A.  P.  Hill.  These 
officers,  with  Jackson,  having  received  the  instructions 
of  the  army  commander,  rejoined  their  respective  com 
mands.  Perhaps  if  "Old  Stonewall"  had  traveled  to 
Richmond  on  his  car,  and  been  spared  the  loss  of  sleep 
and  the  all-night  ride  on  the  eve  of  a  great  battle,  he 
would  have  swept  around  on  A.  P.  Hill's  left  in  time  to 
have  saved  the  lives  of  many  brave  men  at  Mechanics- 
ville  and  Beaver  Dam  Creek. 

Jackson's  troops  had  been  rapidly  approaching  Rich 
mond  since  his  departure.  The  night  of  the  25th  his 
command  was  encamped  in  the  vicinity  of  Ashland,  on 
the  Richmond  and  Fredericksburg  Railroad,  some  six 
teen  miles  from  Richmond.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the 
26th  he  moved  easterly,  crossing  the  Central  Railroad 
below  Hanover  Court  House  about  ten  o'clock,  and,  tak 
ing  the  Mechanicsville  road,  camped  for  the  night  south 
of  the  Totopatomoy  Creek  at  a  place  called  Hundley's 
Corner,  some  seven  or  eight  miles  northeast  of  Mechan 
icsville.  He  was  thus  getting  well  in  the  rear  of  the 
right  of  the  Federal  army.  Lee's  preparations  for  assault 
had  been  completed.  His  battle  order  was  as  follows : 

HEADQUARTERS,  ARMY  OF  NORTHERN  VIRGINIA,  June  24,  1862. 
General  Orders  No.  75. 

i.  General  Jackson's  command  will  proceed  to-morrow  from 
Ashland  toward  the  Slash  Church  and  encamp  at  some  conven 
ient  point  west  of  the  Central  Railroad.  Branch's  brigade,  of 
A.  P.  Hill's  division,  will  also  to-morrow  evening  take  position 
on  the  Chickahominy  near  Half-Sink.  At  three  o'clock  Thursday 
morning,  26th  inst.,  General  Jackson  will  advance  on  the  road 
leading  to  Pole  Green  Church,  communicating  his  march  to  Gen 
eral  Branch,  who  will  immediately  cross  the  Chickahominy  and 
take  the  road  leading  to  Mechanicsville.  As  soon  as  the  move 
ments  of  these  columns  are  discovered,  General  A.  P.  Hill,  with 
the  rest  of  his  division,  will  cross  the  Chickahominy  near  Meadow 
Bridge  and  move  direct  upon  Mechanicsville.  To  aid  his  advance 
the  heavy  batteries  on  the  Chickahominy  will  at  the  proper  time 
open  upon  the  batteries  at  Mechanicsville.  The  enemy  being 
driven  from  Mechanicsville  and  the  passage  across  the  bridge 
opened,  General  Longstreet,  with  his  division  and  that  of  General 
D.  H.  Hill,  will  cross  the  Chickahominy  at  or  near  that  point, 
General  D.  H.  Hill  moving  to  the  support  of  Jackson,  and  Gen 
eral  Longstreet  supporting  General  A.  P.  Hill.  The  four  divi 
sions — keeping  in  communication  with  each  other  and  moving 


COMMANDS  THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND.   159 

en  echelon  on  separate  roads,  if  practicable,  the  left  division  in 
advance,  with  skirmishers  and  sharpshooters  extending  their 
front — will  sweep  down  the  Chickahominy  and  endeavor  to  drive 
the  enemy  from  his  position  above  New  Bridge,  General  Jackson 
bearing  well  to  his  left,  turning  Beaver  Dam  Creek  and  taking 
the  direction  toward  Cold  Harbor.  They  will  then  press  forward 
toward  the  York  River  Railroad,  closing  upon  the  enemy's  rear 
and  forcing  him  down  the  Chickahominy.  Any  advance  of  the 
enemy  toward  Richmond  will  be  prevented  by  vigorously  follow 
ing  his  rear  and  crippling  and  arresting  his  progress. 

2.  The  divisions  under  Generals  Huger  and  Magruder  will 
hold  their  positions  in  front  of  the  enemy  against  attack,  and 
make  such  demonstrations  on  Thursday  as  to  discover  his  opera 
tions.     Should  opportunity  offer,  the  feint  will  be  converted  into 
a  real  attack,  and  should  an  abandonment  of  his  intrenchments 
by  the  enemy  be  discovered,  he  will  be  closely  pursued. 

3.  The  Third  Virginia  Cavalry  will  observe  the  Charles  City 
road.     The  Fifth  Virginia,  the  First  North  Carolina,  and  the 
Hampton  Legion  (cavalry)  will  observe  the  Darby  town,  Varina, 
and  Osborne  roads.     Should  a  movement  of  the  enemy  down  the 
Chickahominy  be  discovered,  they  will  close  upon  his  flank  and 
endeavor  to  arrest  his  march. 

4.  General  Stuart  with  the  First,  Fourth,  and  Ninth  Virginia 
Cavalry,  the  cavalry  of  Cobb's  Legion  and  the  Jeff  Davis  Legion, 
will  cross  the  Chickahominy  to-morrow  and  take  position  to  the 
left  of  General  Jackson's  line  of  march.     The  main  body  will  be 
held  in  reserve,  with  scouts  well  extended  to  the  front  and  left. 
General  Stuart  will  keep  General  Jackson  informed  of  the  move 
ments  of  the  enemy  on  his  left  and  will  co-operate  with  him  in 
his  advance.     The  Tenth  Virginia  Cavalry,  Colonel  Davis,  will 
remain  on  the  Nine-mile  road. 

5.  General  Ransom's  brigade,  of  General  Holmes's  command, 
will  be  placed  in  reserve  on  the  Williamsburg  road  by  General 
Huger,  to  whom  he  will  report  for  orders. 

6.  Commanders  of  divisions  will  cause  their  commands  to  be 
provided  with  three  days'  cooked  rations.     The  necessary  ambu 
lances  and  ordnance  trains  will  be  ready  to  accompany  the  divi 
sions    and   receive  orders   from   their  respective    commanders. 
Officers  in  charge  of  all  trains  will  invariably  remain  with  them. 
Batteries  and  wagons  will  keep  on  the  right  of  the  road.     The 
Chief  Engineer,  Major  Stevens,  will  assign  engineer  officers  to 
each  division,  whose  duty  it  will  be  to  make  provision  for  over 
coming  all  difficulties  to  the  progress  of  the  troops.     The  staff 
departments  will  give  the  necessary  instructions  to  facilitate  the 
movements  herein  directed. 

By  command  of  General  Lee. 

(Signed)  R.  H.  CHILTON, 

Assistant  Adjutant  General. 


l6o  GENERAL   LEE. 

Lee  designed  that  Jackson  should  progress  sufficient 
ly  far  on  the  26th  to  relieve  A.  P.  Hill  from  any  diffi 
culty  in  capturing  Mechanicsville.  This  being  done,  it 
would  unmask  the  bridge  at  that  point,  and  Longstreet 
and  D.  H.  Hill  could  cross.  The  four  commands,  being 
thus  united,  with  Jackson  in  advance  and  on  the  left, 
would  flank  the  very  strong  position  of  the  Federals 
on  the  left  bank  of  Beaver  Dam  Creek,  which  emptied 
into  the  Chickahominy  about  one  mile  below  Mechan 
icsville.  But  Jackson  was  one  day  behind  time.  He 
did  not  proceed  from  Ashland  on  the  25th,  as  ordered, 
because  he  arrived  there  only  that  night,  and  did  not 
leave  till  the  next  morning.  A.  P.  Hill,  after  waiting 
the  greater  part  of  the  26th  for  Jackson,  grew  impa 
tient,  and,  fearing  there  might  be  a  failure  of  the  of 
fensive  plan,  crossed  the  Chickahominy  at  Meadow 
Bridge  at  3  p.  M.  and  moved  direct  on  Mechanicsville, 
hoping  that  as  soon  as  he  became  engaged  at  that  point 
Jackson  would  appear  on  his  left  and  they  would  open 
the  way  for  a  union  with  D.  H.  Hill  and  Longstreet; 
and  then  these  troops  could  all,  as  directed  in  Gen 
eral  Lee's  order,  "  sweep  down  the  north  side  of  the 
Chickahominy."  They  were  to  advance  in  two  lines: 
Jackson  on  the  left  and  A.  P.  Hill  on  the  right  of  the 
first  line,  the  former  being  supported  by  D.  H.  Hill  and 
the  latter  by  Longstreet.  This  movement  rapidly  and 
successfully  executed  would  unmask  the  "  new  bridge  " 
on  the  Chickahominy  below,  by  means  of  which  General 
Lee  could  reunite  the  left  wing  of  his  army  with  Huger's 
and  Magruder's  divisions  on  its  right  bank.  The  strat 
egy  was  a  repetition  of  that  adopted  by  McDowell  at 
the  first  Manassas,  and  afterward  by  Lee  at  Chancellors- 
ville.  After  A.  P.  Hill  drove  the  Federals  out  of  Me 
chanicsville  he  found  himself  in  front  of  the  strongly 
intrenched  lines  on  Beaver  Dam,  and  the  remainder  of 
the  afternoon  of  the  26th  was  occupied  in  attempting  to 
carry  them,  assisted  by  Ripley's  brigade,  of  D.  H.  Hill's 
division.  The  approach  to  the  Federal  position  being 
over  an  open  plain  and  exposed  to  a  murderous  fire  of 
all  arms,  was  not  successful  that  night.  Had  Jackson 
been  up  he  would  have  crossed  the  Beaver  Dam  Creek 
above  the  right  of  the  Federal  line  that  evening,  as  he 


COMMANDS  THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND.  161 

did  the  next  day,  and  thus  prevented  a  great  loss  of 
life. 

It  has  been  said  we  were  lavish  of  blood  in  those 
days,  and  it  was  thought  to  be  a  great  thing  to  charge  a 
battery  of  artillery  or  line  of  earthworks  with  infantry. 
On  the  morning  of  the  27th  the  attack  was  renewed  at 
dawn.  While  it  was  in  progress  Jackson  crossed  the 
creek  above,  and  the  enemy  at  once  abandoned  his  in- 
trenchments,  retiring  rapidly  down  the  river,  destroying 
a  great  deal  of  property  and  leaving  much  in  his  de 
serted  camps.  As  soon  as  the  bridges  could  be  repaired 
across  the  Beaver  Dam,  Lee's  left  wing  resumed  its 
march.  About  noon  the  Federal  troops  were  found  in 
position  behind  Powhite  Creek.  This  second  line  taken 
by  Fitz  John  Porter  was  a  strong  one,  and  made  more 
so  by  breastworks  of  trees  and  rifle  trenches,  while  the 
crests  of  the  position  were  crowned  with  artillery.  Gen 
eral  Lee  says  the  approach  to  this  position  was  over  an 
open  plain  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide  commanded 
by  a  triple  line  of  fire  and  swept  by  the  heavy  batteries 
south  of  the  Chickahommy.  Hill,  still  in  advance,  first 
encountered  the  enemy,  was  soon  hotly  engaged,  and 
met  the  large  force  with  the  "  impetuous  courage  for 
which  that  officer  and  his  troops  are  distinguished." 
The  battle  raged  fiercely  and  with  varying  fortune  for 
more  than  two  hours.  The  attack  on  the  Federal  right 
being  delayed  by  the  length  of  Jackson's  march  and  the 
obstacles  he  encountered,  Longstreet  was  directed  to 
make  a  feint  on  the  enemy's  left,  which  he  soon  con 
verted  into  a  real  attack.  Jackson  arrived  about  this 
time,  and,  after  a  short  and  bloody  conflict,  his  troops 
forced  their  way  through  the  morass  and  obstructions 
and  drove  the  Federals  from  the  woods  on  the  opposite 
side.  Lee  now  ordered  a  general  advance  from  right  to 
left.  The  enemy's  breastworks  were  quickly  stormed, 
and  he  was  forced  back  with  great  slaughter  toward 
the  banks  of  the  Chickahominy  till  night  put  an  end 
to  the  pursuit.  On  the  morning  of  the  28th  there  were 
no  Federal  troops  in  Lee's  front  north  of  the  Chicka 
hominy.  McClellan  had  united  what  was  left  of  Por 
ter's  corps  with  the  rest  of  his  army  on  the  south  side 
of  that  stream. 


1 62  GENERAL   LEE. 

What  would  McClellan  do  now  ?  Would  he  attempt 
to  open  communication  with  his  base  of  supplies  at  the 
White  House,  or  would  he  retreat  down  the  Peninsula 
in  the  direction  of  Fort  Monroe,  skirting  the  James 
River,  where  he  could  be  in  communication  with  the 
Federal  gunboats  on  that  stream,  or  would  he  seek 
shelter  at  the  nearest  point  on  James  River  ?  If  he  at 
tempted  to  go  down  the  Peninsula  or  to  fight  for  his  line 
of  communication  on  York  River,  Lee  was  on  the  proper 
side  of  the  Chickahominy  to  meet  such  movements. 
Should  he  retreat  in  a  direct  line  across  the  White  Oak 
Swamp  for  James  River  it  would  be  necessary  for  the 
Southern  troops  to  get  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Chicka 
hominy  as  soon  as  possible  in  order  to  pursue.  The 
seizure  of  the  York  River  Railroad  by  Ewell's  division 
and  a  portion  of  the  cavalry  under  Stuart  convinced  the 
Southern  commander  that  McClellan  had  abandoned  his 
York  River  base,  and  shortly  afterward  it  was  ascer 
tained  that  there  were  no  indications  of  a  retreat  down 
the  James  River.  Lee  then  knew  McClellan  had  deter 
mined  to  get  to  the  James  by  the  nearest  practicable 
route.  The  Federal  right  had  been  so  pounded  to 
pieces  that  Lee  did  not  fear  an  advance  on  Huger  and 
Magruder,  because  in  that  case  the  victorious  Southern 
legions  would  have  been  in  his  rear,  and  such  an  attempt 
would  have  resulted  in  the  sacrifice  of  his  army.  The 
battle  of  Gaines  Mill  having  been  won  and  the  future 
purpose  of  his  enemy  discovered,  early  on  the  2gth 
Longstreet  and  A.  P.  Hill  were  directed  to  recross  the 
Chickahominy  at  New  Bridge,  while  Jackson  and  D.  H. 
Hill  crossed  at  Grape  Vine  Bridge. 

General  Lee  had  now  united  his  whole  army  south  of 
the  Chickahominy.  That  afternoon  Magruder  attacked 
the  enemy  near  Savage  Station,  being  the  rear  guard  of 
a  retreating  army.  The  lateness  of  the  hour  and  the 
small  force  employed  did  not  produce  a  decisive  result. 
On  the  next  day,  the  30th,  at  4  p.  M.,  the  Union  troops 
were  again  overtaken,  and  the  battle  of  Frazier's  Farm, 
sometimes  called  Glendale,  or  Nelson's,  Farm,  was  fought 
by  Longstreet  and  A.  P.  Hill.  Huger  did  not  get  up, 
and  Jackson  was  unable  to  force  a  passage  through  the 
White  Oak  Swamp.  The  battle  raged  from  4  till  9  p.  M. 


COMMANDS   THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND.   163 

By  that  time,  General  Lee  says,  his  enemy  had  been 
driven  with  great  slaughter  from  every  position  but  one, 
which  he  maintained  till  he  was  enabled  to  withdraw 
under  cover  of  darkness.  Jackson  reached  the  battle 
field  on  July  ist,  having  succeeded  in  crossing  the 
swamp,  and  was  directed  to  continue  the  pursuit  down 
the  Willis  Church  road,  and  soon  came  upon  the  enemy, 
who  occupied  the  high  range  extending  obliquely  across 
the  road  in  front  of  Malvern  Hill,  a  position  of  great 
natural  strength.  There  McClellan  had  concentrated 
his  artillery,  supported  by  large  masses  of  infantry, 
protected  by  earthworks.  Immediately  in  the  Federal 
front  the  ground  was  open,  varying  in  width  from  a 
quarter  to  a  half  mile,  sloping  gradually  from  the  crest, 
and  completely  swept  by  the  fire  of  his  infantry  and 
artillery.  General  Lee  in  his  report  says :  "  To  reach 
this  open  ground  our  troops  had  to  advance  through  a 
broken  and  thickly  wooded  country,  traversed  nearly 
throughout  its  whole  extent  by  a  swamp  passable  at  but 
few  places,  difficult  at  those.  The  whole  was  in  range 
of  the  batteries -on  the  heights  and  the  gunboats  on  the 
river,  under  whose  incessant  fire  our  movements  had  to 
be  executed."  Here  the  Federals  were  assaulted  by  por 
tions  of  Jackson's,  D.  H.  Hill's,  Magruder's,  and  Huger's 
divisions,  but  from  want  of  concert  among  the  attacking 
columns,  General  Lee  reports,  their  assaults  were  too 
weak  to  break  the  Federal  line,  and,  after  struggling 
gallantly  and  inflicting  great  loss,  they  were  compelled 
successively  to  retire.  Night  was  approaching  when  the 
attack  began,  and  it  soon  became  difficult  to  distinguish 
friend  from  foe.  "  The  firing  continued,"  General  Lee 
reports,  "  till  after  9  p.  M.,  but  no  decided  result  was 
gained.  The  lateness  of  the  hour  at  which  the  attack 
necessarily  began  gave  the  enemy  the  full  advantage  of 
his  superior  position  and  augmented  the  natural  difficul 
ties  of  our  own."  In  these  offensive  movements  the 
Southern  cavalry  under  Stuart  were  directed  to  move  to 
the  left  of  Jackson,  breaking  the  Federal  lines  of  com 
munication  and  giving  notice  of  any  attempt  to  get  down 
the  Peninsula.  The  greater  part  of  McClellan's  cavalry, 
under  Stoneman,  which  had  been  picketing  on  Porter's 
right  flank,  was  cut  off  from  his  army  by  the  march  of 


164  GENERAL   LEE. 

Jackson  and  Stuart,  and,  not  being  able  to  reach  their 
troops,  proceeded  rapidly  down  the  Peninsula.  Stuart 
reached  McClellan's  base  at  the  White  House  on  the  2pth, 
to  find  it  abandoned.  On  Stuart's  approach  the  greater 
part  of  the  enemy's  stores  were  destroyed,  but  a  large 
amount  of  property  was  rescued,  including  ten  thousand 
stand  of  small  arms,  partially  burned.  Stuart  took 
up  his  march  to  again  place  himself  on  Jackson's  left, 
reaching  the  rear  of  the  Federals  at  Malvern  Hill  at  the 
close  of  the  engagement  on  the  night  of  July  ist.  The 
next  day  the  Federals,  having  again  retreated,  were  pur 
sued  by  Lee,  with  his  cavalry  in  front,  in  the  midst  of  a 
violent  storm,  which  somewhat  retarded  their  progress. 
The  Union  troops,  having  retired  during  the  night,  suc 
ceeded  in  reaching  the  protection  of  their  gunboats. 
At  Westover  on  the  James  River,  the  approach  to  their 
front  was  commanded  by  the  heavy  guns  of  the  ship 
ping  in  addition  to  those  mounted  in  intrenchments. 
In  view  of  these  facts  General  Lee  deemed  it  inexpedi 
ent  to  attack  him.  His  troops  had  been  marching  and 
fighting  for  seven  days,  and  after  remaining  in  close 
vicinity  to  McClellan's  army,  on  July  8th  they  were 
returned  to  their  former  position.  In  concluding  his 
report  of  these  engagements,  General  Lee  says  that 
"under  ordinary  circumstances  the  Federal  army  should 
have  been  destroyed.  Its  escape  was  due  to  the  causes 
already  stated.  Prominent  among  these  is  the  want  of 
correct  and  timely  information.  This  fact,  attributable 
chiefly  to  the  nature  of  the  country,  enabled  General 
McClellan  skillfully  to  conceal  his  retreat  and  to  add 
much  to  the  obstructions  with  which  Nature  had  beset 
the  way  of  our  pursuing  columns,  but  regret  that  more 
was  not  accomplished  gives  way  to  gratitude  to  the  Sov 
ereign  Ruler  of  the  Universe  for  the  results  achieved. 
The  siege  of  Richmond  was  raised,  and  the  object  of  a 
campaign  which  had  been  prosecuted  after  months  of 
preparation  at  an  enormous  expenditure  of  men  and 
money  completely  frustrated.  More  than  ten  thousand 
prisoners  (including  officers  of  rank),  fifty-two  pieces  of 
artillery,  and  upward  of  thirty-five  thousand  stand  of 
small  arms  were  captured.  The  stores  and  supplies  of 
every  description  which  fell  into  our  hands  were  great 


COMMANDS  THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND.  165 

in  amount  and  value,  but  small  in  comparison  with  those 
destroyed  by  the  enemy." 

When  McClellan's  army,  worn  with  conflict  and  brok 
en  by  defeat,  reached,  on  July  2d,  the  plains  of  the  James 
River,  above  Westover,  had  the  Southern  infantry  moved 
along  the  route  taken  by  the  cavalry  of  Stuart,  he  might 
have  been  attacked  again  with  every  element  of  decisive 
success.  During  the  night  of  the  ist  Stuart's  celebrated 
horse  artillery  commander,  Pelham,  informed  his  chief 
that  the  Federal  troops,  after  leaving  Malvern  Hill,  had 
reached  this  position  in  a  disorderly  state,  and  that  their 
position  on  the  James  River  flats  was  completely  com 
manded  by  a  ridge  parallel  to  the  river  called  Eveling- 
ton  Heights.  These  heights  commanded  the  enemy's 
encampment,  and,  crowned  with  artillery  and  taken 
possession  of  by  infantry,  would  have  compelled,  in  all 
probability,  McClellan's  surrender.  Stuart  forwarded 
Pelham's  report  at  once  to  the  commanding  general,  and 
proceeded  to  gain  these  heights.  A  squadron  of  the 
Federal  cavalry  vacated  them  without  much  hesitation 
on  his  approach.  Upon  getting  in  sight  of  the  enemy 
Stuart  determined  to  send  back  for  one  of  his  howitzers 
to  fire  upon  their  camp  below.  It  was  ascertained 
that  the  main  body  of  the  enemy  were  there  much  re 
duced  and  demoralized.  These  facts  were  promptly 
furnished  to  the  commanding  general,  who  in  turn  in 
formed  him  that  Longstreet  and  Jackson  were  en  route 
to  his  support.  Stuart  held  this  ground  from  9  A.  M. 
till  2  P.  M.,  when  he  was  finally  driven  off  by  bodies  of 
the  enemy's  infantry,  after  the  exhaustion  of  his  how 
itzer  ammunition.  He  held  the  heights  as  long  as  it 
was  possible,  till  he  learned  that  Longstreet  had  taken 
the  wrong  road,  and  was  then  at  Nance  Shop,  six  or 
seven  miles  off,  and  could  not  possibly  reach  him  in 
time  to  secure  them.  It  was  suggested  to  Stuart  by  one 
of  his  officers  not  to  occupy  the  heights  in  force,  nor  to 
fire  cannon  from  them,  because  it  would  call  the  atten 
tion  of  McClellan  to  the  great  importance  of  securing 
and  fortifying  them  (before  Lee's  army  could  arrive), 
as  necessary  to  his  own  protection.  The  cavalry  com 
mander  disregarded  this  suggestion,  and  was  driven 
from  them.  It  seems  absolutely  certain  that  had  Long- 

12 


166  GENERAL   LEE. 

street  followed  Stuart's  march,  Jackson  Longstreet's, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  army  followed  them,  on  July 
2d,  these  heights  could  have  been  occupied  by  Lee's 
army  and  McClellan's  command  attacked  and  destroyed. 
The  guns  of  the  gunboats  had  to  be  so  greatly  elevated 
to  fire  over  the  banks  of  the  river  that  the  projectiles 
passed  over  the  heights,  so  that  the  Southern  army 
would  not  be  much  exposed  to  that  fire,  while  a  plung 
ing  fire  from  Lee's  batteries  on  the  Federal  troops  in 
the  plains  below  must  have  resulted  most  disastrously.* 

McClellan,  in  a  dispatch  to  Mr.  Lincoln  on  the  4th, 
two  days  afterward,  says :  "  We  now  occupy  Evelington 
Heights,  about  two  miles  from  the  James,  a  plain  extend 
ing  from  there  to  the  river.  Our  front  is  about  three 
miles  long;  these  heights  command  our  whole  position, 
and  must  be  maintained." 

The  total  losses  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  these 
seven  days  of  conflict  are  put  down  at  fifteen  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  forty-nine,  and  the  list  of  casualties 
in  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  in  the  fights  before 
Richmond,  commencing  June  226.  and  ending  July  i, 
1862,  is  placed  at  sixteen  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-two.  The  Southern  losses  were  the  greater  be 
cause  during  the  battles  they  invariably  formed  the  at 
tacking  column,  while  the  Federal  troops  fought  more 
or  less  behind  intrenchments. 

It  can  not  be  denied  that  the  retreat  of  McClellan 
from  his  position  in  front  of  Richmond  to  the  James 
River  was  cleverly  executed.  After  his  right  was  rolled 
up  the  various  positions  selected  to  keep  the  Southern 
troops  from  destroying  his  army  were  well  selected  and 
ably  defended.  The  Federal  commander  got  unduly  ex 
cited  over  what  he  supposed  was  the  great  preponder 
ance  of  the  Southerners  in  numbers,  as  well  as  over  the 
re-enforcements  which  they  were  supposed  to  be  receiv 
ing.  On  the  night  Stonewall  Jackson  encamped  at  Ash 
land  McClellan  told  the  Secretary  of  War  by  telegraph  that 


*  The  only  reference  known  to  the  loss  of  this  great  opportunity 
by  the  Southern  army  is  to  be  found  in  the  valuable  work  entitled 
Four  Years  with  General  Lee,  by  Colonel  Walter  Taylor,  his  distin 
guished  adjutant  general. 


COMMANDS  THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND.  167 

he  had  received  information  from  various  sources  that 
Beauregard  and  his  troops  had  arrived  in  Richmond ; 
and  a  half  hour  later  he  telegraphed  Casey  in  command 
of  his  depot  supplies  at  the  White  House  that  "  it  was 
said  Jackson  is  coming  from  Fredericksburg  with  the 
intention  of  attacking  the  right  flank  soon."  Six  and  a 
half  hours  later,  on  the  morning  of  the  26th,  at  three 
o'clock,  he  informed  Mr.  Stanton  that  his  "  impression 
was  confirmed  that  Jackson  would  soon  attack  our  right 
rear,"  and  added  if  he  "  had  another  good  division  he 
would  laugh  at  Jackson."  At  9  A.  M.  on  the  morning 
of  the  26th  a  negro  servant  who  had  been  in  the  em 
ploy  of  some  of  the  officers  of  the  Twentieth  Georgia 
was  brought  before  him,  and,  after  questioning  him,  he 
telegraphed  Stanton,  "There  is  no  doubt  that  Jackson 
is  coming  upon  us."  At  midnight  on  June  24th  he  had 
informed  Stanton  that  a  "  peculiar  case  of  desertion  had 
just  occurred  from  the  enemy."  The  deserter  stated 
that  he  had  left  Jackson,  Whiting,  and  Ewell,  and  fifteen 
brigades  at  Gordonsville  on  the  2ist,  and  that  it  was  in 
tended  to  attack  his  [McClellan's]  rear  on  the  28th,  and 
asked  for  the  latest  information  about  Jackson.  Mr. 
Stanton  replied  to  him  on  June  25th,  Jackson  then  being 
at  Ashland,  that  he  had  no  definite  information  as  to 
the  number  or  position  of  Jackson's  forces  ;  that  it  was 
reported  as  numbering  forty  thousand  men.  He  had 
also  heard  that  "  Jackson  was  at  Gordonsville  with 
ten  thousand  rebels.  Other  reports  placed  Jackson 
at  Port  Republic,  Harrisonburg,  and  Luray,  and  that 
neither  McDowell,  who  was  at  Manassas,  nor  Banks 
and  Fremont,  who  were  at  Middletown,  appear  to  have 
any  knowledge  of  Jackson's  whereabouts."  On  the  day 
Jackson  arrived  at  Ashland  McClellan  was  engaged  in 
pushing  Heintzelman's  corps  closer  to  the  Richmond 
lines  in  prosecution  of  his  general  plan  of  advance.  The 
night  of  the  25th,  when  Jackson  was  sleeping  at  Ash 
land,  McClellan  again  telegraphed  to  the  Secretary  of 
War  that  he  was  inclined  to  think  that  Jackson  would 
attack  his  right  and  rear,  and  that  the  rebel  force  was 
at  least  two  hundred  thousand  ;  that  he  regretted  his 
inferiority  of  numbers,  but  felt  he  was  not  responsible 
for  it,  and  that  if  his  army  was  destroyed  by  overwhelm- 
12 


!68  GENERAL   LEE. 

ing  numbers  he  could  at  least  die  with  it  and  share  its 
fate ;  that  he  felt  there  was  no  use  in  his  again  asking 
for  re-enforcements.  It  seems  that  McClellan  was  de 
ceived  to  some  extent  by  the  report  of  his  chief  of  Secret- 
Service  Corps.  This  was  a  corps  one  of  whose  objects 
was  to  question  prisoners  and  deserters  and  ascertain 
in  every  other  possible  way  the  numbers  of  Lee's  army. 
He  was  fully  convinced  he  had  to  fight  two  hundred 
thousand  troops.  Lee's  army  numbered  at  the  begin 
ning  of  these  combats  eighty-one  thousand.  It  was  com 
posed  of  thirty-nine  brigades  of  infantry  (twelve  more, 
including  those  under  Jackson,  than  General  Johnston 
had  when  he  relinquished  the  command  at  Seven  Pines), 
six  regiments  and  three  battalions  of  cavalry,  and 
sixteen  batteries  of  reserve  artillery  (exclusive  of  those 
with  the  various  infantry  divisions).  Fifty-three  thou 
sand  Southern  troops  were  massed  on  McClellan's  right, 
and  constituted  the  force  which  attacked  Porter's  com 
mand,  numbering  of  all  arms  of  service  about  thirty- 
six  thousand  men  ;  while  twenty-eight  thousand  Confed 
erate  troops  stood  between  some  seventy  thousand  of 
McClellan's  army  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Chickahom- 
iny  and  Richmond.  The  certified  morning  reports  of 
the  Federal  Army  of  the  Potomac,  dated  June  20,  1862, 
gives  1 15,102  as  the  aggregate  present  for  duty.  Six  days 
later,  when  the  battles  commenced,  the  force  probably 
did  not  exceed  one  hundred  and  five  thousand.  If  in 
round  numbers  we  put  it  at  one  hundred  thousand,  Lee 
was  outnumbered  nineteen  thousand.  When  McClellan 
discovered  that  his  opponent  had  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Chickahominy  two  thirds  of  his  army,  but  three  courses 
were  left  to  him :  One,  to  re-enforce  the  three  divisions 
of  Porter.  Another,  to  strengthen  and  fortify  the  position 
along  Beaver  Dam  Creek,  and,  relying  on  Porter  to  hold 
at  bay  as  long  as  possible  Jackson,  Longstreet,  and  the 
two  Hills,  boldly  set  in  motion  his  four  corps  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Chickahominy  for  the  coveted  prize, 
his  enemy's  capital.  By  destroying  Huger  and  Magru- 
der  or  crippling  them,  a  portion  of  his  troops  could  have 
kept  them  quiet,  and  then,  facing  about  with  the  re 
mainder,  he  might  have  marched  to  Porter's  assistance 
and  possibly  defeated  Lee.  It  was  hazardous,  however. 


COMMANDS  THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND.   169 

Richmond  was  not  Austerlitz,  nor  McClellan  Napoleon. 
Third,  to  rescue  Porter  from  his  enemy,  get  him  safely 
across  to  the  south  side  of  the  Chickahominy,  and  unite 
him  with  the  rest  of  his  army. 

This  plan,  if  it  had  been  adopted  before  the  Con 
federate  attack,  might  have  forced  the  Southern  com 
mander  to  attack  his  united  army  on  the  right  bank. 
He  decided  to  receive  the  attack  in  the  position  then 
occupied  by  Porter,  and  only  withdrew  him  to  the  Rich 
mond  side  of  the  Chickahominy  after  he  had  been  badly 
hammered  and  had  lost  some  six  thousand  men. 

Perhaps  if  McClellan  had  known  that  he  was  fight 
ing  eighty-one  thousand  men,  and  not  two  hundred 
thousand,  he  might  have  acted  with  more  confidence. 
Mr.  Lincoln  telegraphed  June  26th  that  his  suggestion 
of  the  probability  of  his  being  overwhelmed  by  two 
hundred  thousand  men,  and  talking  about  where  the 
responsibility  would  belong,  pained  him  very  much. 
On  June  2yth  McClellan  began  to  realize  that  he  was 
going  to  have  some  very  serious  work,  and  begged  the 
Secretary  that  he  would  put  some  one  general  in  com 
mand  of  the  Slienandoah  Valley  and  of  all  troops  in 
front  of  Washington  for  the  sake  of  the  country.  On 
the  same  day  he  complimented  Porter  for  his  fine  efforts 
at  Gaines  Mill,  says  he  looks  upon  the  day  as  de 
cisive  of  the  war,  and  tells  him  to  "  try  and  drive  the 
rascals,  and  take  some  prisoners  and  guns."  This  was 
an  hour  or  two  before  Porter's  defeat.  General  Hooker 
did  not  seem  to  be  so  confident,  for  about  the  same  time  he 
reported  that  he  had  just  returned  from  the  front,  where 
"we  have  nothing  but  a  stampede,  owing  to  the  behav 
ior  of  the  troops  occupying  the  picket  line.  The  first 
shot  from  a  rebel  was  sufficient  to  start  regiments." 
Later  that  day  Admiral  Goldsborough,  the  flag  officer  of 
the  Federal  squadron  on  the  James,  was  notified  by  Mc 
Clellan  that  he  had  met  with  a  severe  repulse,  and  asked 
him  to  send  gunboats  up  the  James  River  to  cover  the 
left  flank  of  his  army. 

The  Washington  War  Secretary  was  confident  of 
Federal  success  as  late  as  the  evening  of  June  2pth, 
for  he  telegraphed  Hon.  William  H.  Seward,  at  New  York, 
that  his  inference  is,  from  what  has  taken  place  around 


I/O 


GENERAL  LEE. 


Richmond,  that  McClellan  will  be  in  the  city  within 
two  days ;  and  the  day  after,  to  General  Wool,  at  Fort 
Monroe,  that  McClellan  had  a  favorable  position  near 
Richmond,  and  that  it  looked  more  like  occupying  that 
city  than  any  time  before.  At  1 1.30  on  the  night  of  June 
3oth  the  Union  army  commander  had  begun  to  realize 
that  his  "  change  of  base/'  as  he  termed  it,  would  not  be 
attended  with  favorable  results,  and  telegraphed  Mr. 
Stanton  that  he  feared  he  would  be  forced  to  abandon 
his  material  in  order  to  save  his  men,  under  cover  of  the 
gunboats,  and  that  if  none  of  them  escaped,  they  would 
at  least  have  done  honor  to  the  country. 

On  July  ist  his  army  was  at  Haxall's  plantation,  on 
the  James,  and  McClellan  says  he  dreaded  the  result  if 
he  was  attacked ;  that  if  possible  he  would  retire  that 
night  to  Harrison's  Bar,  where  the  gunboats  could  aid 
in  covering  his  position.  "  I  now  pray  for  time.  We 
have  failed  to  win  only  because  overpowered  by  supe 
rior  numbers."  On  July  2d  McClellan's  army  had  suc 
ceeded  in  reaching  Harrison's  Landing.  He  told  Mr. 
Lincoln  that  if  he  were  not  attacked  during  that  day 
his  men  would  be  ready  to  repulse  the  enemy  on  the 
morrow.  On  the  same  day  he  received  a  dispatch  from 
President  Lincoln  in  that  vein  of  humor  for  which  he 
was  remarkable.  "  If  you  think  you  are  not  strong 
enough  to  take  Richmond  just  now,  I  do  not  ask  you 
to.  Try  just  now  to  save  the  army  material  and  per 
sonnel,  and  I  will  strengthen  it  for  the  offensive  again 
as  fast  as  I  can.  The  governments  of  eighteen  States 
offered  me  a  new  levy  of  three  hundred  thousand,  which 
I  accepted."  And  in  a  letter  of  the  same  date,  in  ref 
erence  to  sending  him  re-enforcements,  Mr.  Lincoln 
adds  a  postscript :  "  If  at  any  time  you  feel  able  to  take 
the  offensive,  you  are  not  restrained  from  doing  so." 

The  respective  commanders  of  the  two  armies  de 
cided  to  rest  and  recruit  their  forces.  McClellan  re 
sumed  the  habit  he  contracted  in  West  Virginia  of  issu 
ing  proclamations.  On  July  4th  the  following  was  read 
to  his  army  from  the  headquarters  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  camped  near  Harrison's  Landing. 

SOLDIERS  OF  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC  :  Your  achieve 
ments  of  the  last  ten  days  have  illustrated  the  ability  and  endur- 


COMMANDS  THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND,   j^j 

ance  of  the  American  soldier.  Attacked  by  vastly  superior  forces, 
and  without  hope  of  re-enforcements,  you  have  succeeded  in  chang 
ing  your  base  of  operations  by  a  flank  movement,  regarded  as  the 
most  hazardous  of  military  expedients.  You  have  saved  all  your 
material,  all  your  trains,  and  all  your  guns,  except  a  few  lost  in 
battle.  Upon  your  march  you  have  been  assailed  day  after  day 
with  desperate  fury  by  men  of  the  same  race  and  nation,  skillfully 
massed  and  led,  and  under  every  disadvantage  of  numbers,  and 
necessarily  of  position  also.  You  have  in  every  conflict  beaten 
back  your  foes  with  enormous  slaughter. 

(Signed)  GEO.  B.  MCCLELLAN, 

Major  General  Commanding. 

By  a  series  of  brilliant  movements  General  Lee  had 
driven  an  army  superior  to  him  in  numbers  from  the 
gates  of  his  capital,  and  had  fully  restored  himself  in 
the  confidence  of  his  people  by  the  exercise  of  military 
genius  and  by  his  personal  conduct  and  supervision  of 
the  troops  on  the  battlefield.  It  might  be  said  of  him, 
as  Addison  wrote  of  the  great  Marlborough,  that 

"  His  mighty  soul  inspired  repulsed  battalions  to  engage, 
And  taught  a  doubtful  battle  where  to  rage." 

Or,  as  was  written  of  Wellington,  "  no  responsibility 
proved  too  heavy  for  his  calm,  assured,  and  fertile  in 
tellect.  If  he  made  a  mistake,  he  repaired  it  before  the 
enemy  could  profit  by  it.  If  his  adversaries  made  one, 
he  took  advantage  of  it  with  immediate  decision.  Al 
ways  cool,  sagacious,  resolute,  reliant,  he  was  never  at 
a  loss  for  expedients,  never  disturbed  by  any  unforeseen 
accidents,  never  without  a  clear  conception  of  the  object 
to  be  achieved,  and  the  best  way  of  achieving  it." 

The  character  of  Lee  is  most  apparent  from  his  own 
words,  only  written  for  the  eyes  of  the  members  of  his 
family.  When  by  his  skill  his  brave  soldiers  had  re 
moved  from  the  front  of  his  capital  McClellan's  army, 
in  a  letter  to  his  wife  he  disposes  of  the  matter  in  a  few 
lines  by  saying,  on  July  9,  1862,  from  Dobb's  Farm, 
on  the  Nine  Mile  Road :  "  I  have  returned  to  my  old 
quarters,  and  am  filled  with  gratitude  to  our  Heavenly 
Father  for  all  the  mercies  he  has  extended  to  us.  Our 
success  has  not  been  as  great  or  complete  as  we  could 
have  desired,  but  God  knows  what  is  best  for  us.  Our 


172  GENERAL   LEE. 

enemy  has  met  with  a  heavy  loss,  from  which  it  must 
take  him  some  time  to  recover  before  he  can  recom 
mence  his  operations." 

General  Henry  Clitz  had  been  wounded  and  was  a 
prisoner  in  Richmond.  General  Lee  answered  a  letter 
in  reference  to  him  and  other  wounded  prisoners : 

HEADQUARTERS,  July  15,  1862. 

MY  DEAR  FITZ:  I  have  just  received  your  letter  of  the  I3th. 
I  am  very  sorry  to  hear  of  the  sufferings  of  the  wounded  prisoners, 
and  wish  I  could  relieve  them.  I  proposed  to  General  McClellan 
on  Tuesday,  before  the  battle  of  that  day,  to  parole  and  send  to 
him  all  his  wounded  if  he  would  receive  them.  Since  that  the 
arrangement  has  been  made,  and  the  sick  and  wounded  are  now 
being  conveyed  to  him.  This  will  relieve  them  very  much,  and 
enable  us  to  devote  our  attention  to  those  retained.  In  addition, 
the  enemy  has  at  last  agreed  to  a  general  exchange  of  all  prison 
ers  of  war,  and  Generals  Dix  and  D.  H.  Hill  are  to  meet  to-mor 
row  to  commence  the  negotiations.  I  hope  in  this  way  much 
relief  will  be  afforded  ;  at  first  the  hospitals  were  overtaxed,  men 
could  not  be  had  to  bury  the  dead,  and  the  sufferings  of  all  were 
increased.  Friend  Clitz  ought  to  recollect  that  this  is  a  matter  of 
his  own  seeking,  and  he  has  only  to  blame  himself.  I  will  still 
be  happy  to  do  for  him  all  I  can,  and  will  refer  your  letter  to  the 
director  of  the  hospital  if  I  can  find  him. 

Your  loving  uncle,  R.  E.  LEE. 

General  FITZ  LEE. 

The  offensive  tactics  of  the  Confederate  commander 
raised  the  siege  of  Richmond  and  the  hopes  of  the 
South.  From  the  various  churches  prayers  ascended 
to  the  throne  of  the  God  of  Battles,  and  humble  suppli 
cations  were  offered  for  the  cessation  of  hostilities. 

The  removal  of  McClellan's  army  from  the  walls  of 
Richmond  brought  great  relief  to  its  inhabitants;  the 
blood  of  the  bravest  had  been  poured  at  their  feet,  the 
moans  .of  the  wounded  had  fallen  upon  their  ears,  and 
the  dead  lay  silent  and  cold  before  their  eyes.  The  war 
had  been  brought  to  their  hearthstones. 

General  Lee  now  proposed  to  transfer  its  horrors  to 
fields  at  a  greater  distance  from  the  Southern  capital, 
for  the  proximity  of  a  large  hostile  army  still  menaced 
its  safety.  McClellan  had  been  driven  from  its  gates, 
but  Richmond  was  still  his  objective  point.  But  two 
marches  away  there  were  encamped  on  James  River 


COMMANDS  THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND.  1-3 

ninety  thousand  men ;  twenty  days  after  the  battle  of 
Malvern  Hill  it  numbered  101,697 — a  grand  army,  well 
equipped  with  all  the  sinews  of  war,  whose  principal  offi 
cers  were  men  of  undoubted  courage  and  military  ability. 

Lee  had  three  alternatives:  First,  to  attack;  second, 
to  await  an  attack  ;  third,  manoeuvre  so  as  to  threat 
en  Washington  and  draw  McClellan's  army  from  the 
vicinity  of  Richmond.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  was 
now  behind  too  much  dirt,  and  had  too  many  big  guns 
in  position  on  land  and  water  to  admit  of  an  attack 
with  reasonable  hopes  of  success;  and  time  was  too  pre 
cious  to  wait  for  it  to  get  in  condition  to  assume  the 
offensive  again,  so  Lee  promptly  decided  to  move  it 
to  a  safe  distance.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  naturally  solicit 
ous  about  the  security  of  the  Federal  capital.  After 
McClellan's  defeat  he  determined  to  do  two  things: 
One,  to  concentrate  the  commands  which  Jackson  had 
scattered  and  put  them  under  one  officer,  who  should 
be  charged  with  the  guardianship  of  Washington ;  the 
other,  to  buckle  to  his  side  by  day  and  night  a  military 
adviser  in  whose  abilities  he  had  confidence,  and  who 
should  be  commander  in  chief  of  all  the  Federal  armies. 

He  was  singularly  unfortunate  in  the  selection  of  the 
officers  to  fill  these  two  important  places.  The  forces 
of  Fremont,  Banks,  and  McDowell  were  united  into 
what  was  termed  the  Army  of  Virginia,  and  its  com 
mand  was  assigned  to  Major-General  John  Pope.  This 
officer,  a  Kentuckian  by  birth  and  a  West  Point  gradu 
ate,  was  then  forty  years  old.  When  a  captain  of  engi 
neers  in  the  United  States  Army  he  had  been  detailed 
as  one  of  the  army  officers  to  escort  Mr.  Lincoln  to 
Washington  where  he  was  to  assume  the  duties  of 
the  presidency,  and,  it  is  presumed,  did  not  fail  to  im 
press  upon  the  President  his  qualifications  for  com 
mand.  Pope  had  met  with  some  success  in  the  cam 
paigns  in  the  West,  and  was  looked  upon  as  a  rising 
officer  whose  military  capacity  would  be  productive  of 
great  results,  and  ultimately  seat  him  in  McClellan's 
saddle.  On  assuming  his  new  command,  it  must  be 
confessed  he  made  a  bad  beginning,  which  was  not  at 
tended  with  the  usual  good  ending.  He  was  evidently 
deeply  impressed  with  the  idea  that  the  war  in  Vir- 


174  GENERAL   LEE. 

ginia  had  not  been  conducted  properly,  and  that  he  had 
been  brought  from  the  West — where,  as  he  said,  he 
had  only  seen  the  backs  of  his  enemies — to  destroy  the 
human  race  at  the  South  generally,  whether  they  were 
armed  soldiers  or  unarmed  citizens.  There  was  a  strik 
ing  contrast  between  McClellan  and  Pope.  The  former 
had  announced  that  private  property  and  unarmed 
citizens  should  be  protected,  and  that  neither  confis 
cation  of  property,  political  execution  of  persons,  nor 
forcible  abolition  of  slavery  should  be  contemplated 
for  a  moment ;  the  latter  had  ordered  the  arrest  of  all 
disloyal  male  citizens,  and  their  banishment  from  their 
homes  unless  they  took  the  oaths  of  allegiance,  threat 
ening  them  if  they  should  ever  return  that  they  would 
be  visited  with  the  extreme  rigor  of  military  law,  and 
should  their  oaths  be  violated,  the  offenders  would  be 
shot  and  their  property  confiscated.  He  also  directed 
that  prominent  citizens,  however  inoffensive  they  might 
be,  should  be  seized  on  every  side  and  held  as  hostages 
for  Union  soldiers  captured  by  "  roving  bands."  The  inti 
mation  to  his  soldiers  that  they  were  free  to  enter  upon 
a  campaign  of  robbery  and  murder  against  unarmed 
citizens  and  peaceful  tillers  of  the  soil  produced  a  sen 
sation  in  the  army  of  Lee,  which  had  been  accustomed 
to  encounter  troops  under  leaders  of  a  different  type, 
and  also  a  desire  to  get  at  Pope  at  the  earliest  moment. 
The  North  was  not  prepared  at  that  date  for  such  ex 
treme  measures.  Men  who  at  home  would  have  shud 
dered  at  the  suggestion  of  taking  another's  property 
now  appropriated  remorselessly  whatever  came  within 
their  reach.  The  Southern  President  directed  General 
Lee  to  say  to  the  authorities  at  Washington  that  a  car 
tel  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners  between  the  belliger 
ents  had  just  been  signed  by  Generals  Dix  and  D.  H. 
Hill,  representing  their  respective  governments,  stipu 
lating  that  all  prisoners  hereafter  taken  will  be  dis 
charged  on  parole  till  exchanged,  and  that  Pope  had 
violated  it,  because  his  orders  contemplated  the  murder 
of  peaceful  inhabitants  as  spies  ;  that  innocent  people 
had  been  seized,  to  be  murdered  in  cold  blood  if  any  of 
his  soldiers  should  be  killed  by  unknown  persons;  and 
that,  in  consequence,  neither  Pope  nor  his  commissioned 


COMMANDS  THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND. 


175 


officers,  if  captured,  should  be  considered  as  prisoners  of 
war.  To  this  communication  President  Lincoln's  new 
military  adviser  replied  that  the  communication  of  Mr. 
Davis,  inclosed  to  him  by  General  Lee,  was  couched  in 
language  exceedingly  insulting  to  the  Government  of 
the  United  States,  and  that  he  [Halleck]  must  respect 
fully  decline  to  receive  it.  Later  it  was  stated  that 
the  Government  disavowed  these  measures  of  the  com 
mander  of  the  Army  of  Virginia.  Pope  was  more  or 
less  ridiculed  by  soldiers  on  both  sides  for  his  bom 
bastic  declamations.  He  did  not  want  to  hear,  he  told 
his  troops,  of  taking  strong  positions  and  holding  them, 
of  lines  of  retreat  and  bases  of  supply.  His  "  head 
quarters  "  were  reported  "in  the  saddle,"  and  his  army 
was  to  be  launched  upon  a  sea  of  strife  without  a  com 
pass.  The  safety  of  Washington,  with  which  he  was 
particularly  charged,  was  to  be  secured  by  marvelous 
methods.  He  proposed  to  keep  his  army  on  the  flank 
of  any  hostile  force  that  approached  it,  because  he 
thought  that  no  commander  would  have  the  temerity 
to  pass  him,  in  the  first  place  ;  and,  in  the  second,  if 
he  should  seek  to  attack  him,  he  could  lead  him  off 
in  another  direction,  and  was  satisfied  that  if  he  had 
McClellan's  numbers  he  could  march  to  New  Orleans 
and  dictate  the  terms  of  peace  in  the  Crescent  City. 

General  Lee  early  measured  Pope,  and  when  it  be 
came  necessary  to  transact  military  business  with  him 
paralyzed  him  with  movements  as  brilliant  as  they  were 
bold,  but  which  it  is  safe  to  say  he  would  never  have 
attempted  against  an  army  commander  for  whose  mili 
tary  genius  he  had  profound  respect.  In  a  letter  from 
near  Richmond,  July  28,  1862,  after  telling  Mrs.  Lee: 
"  In  the  prospect  before  me  I  can  not  see  a  single  ray  of 
pleasure  during  this  war ;  but  so  long  as  I  can  perform 
any  service  to  the  country  I  am  content,"  he  could  not 
resist  giving  Pope  a  slight  slap,  and  adds :  "  When  you 
write  to  Rob  again  "  (his  youngest  son,  who  was  a  pri 
vate  in  the  Rockbridge  Battery)  "tell  him  to  catch  Pope 
for  me,  and  also  to  bring  in  his  cousin  Louis  Marshall, 
who,  I  am  told,  is  on  his  staff.  I  could  forgive  the  latter 
fighting  against  us,  but  not  his  joining  Pope." 

Out  in  the  West,  too,  President  Lincoln  found  his 


I76  GENERAL   LEE. 

commander  in  chief,  and  on  July  nth  ordered  that 
Major-General  Henry  W.  Halleck  be  assigned  to  com 
mand  the  whole  land  force  of  the  United  States  as  gen 
eral  in  chief,  and  that  he  repair  to  the  capital.  The 
Confederates  were  re-enforced  by  these  appointments 
of  Halleck  and  Pope.  If  the  latter  was,  as  Swinton, 
the  historian  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  puts  it,  "  the 
most  disbelieved  man  in  the  army,"  the  former  was  a 
perpetual  stumbling-stone  in  the  path  of  the  field  com 
manders  of  the  Federal  army.  His  position  was  a 
most  difficult  one  to  fill.  Mr.  Lincoln's  attention  was 
drawn  to  him  by  his  past  record.  Halleck  gradu 
ated  at  the  United  States  Military  Academy  in  the 
class  of  1849,  and  was  forty-seven  years  old  when  sum 
moned  to  Washington.  Like  Lee,  McClellan,  and  Pope, 
he  was  an  engineer  officer,  but  resigned  in  1854  to  prac 
tice  law,  and  was  so  engaged  in  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  when 
the  war  began.  General  Scott  had  a  high  opinion  of 
his  ability.  A  lawyer,  a  soldier,  and  an  author,  he  had 
written  on  both  military  and  legal  topics.  He  had  many 
of  the  qualifications  necessary  for  his  trying  office. 
This  appointment  was  made  by  Mr.  Lincoln  imme 
diately  after  a  personal  inspection  of  McClellan's  army 
on  the  James  River.  On  that  visit,  July  8th,  the  North 
ern  President  ascertained  that  the  Army  of  the  Poto 
mac  numbered  86,500  men  present  and  73,500  absent 
to  be  accounted  for.  The  tri-monthly  return  for  July 
loth  fixed  the  number  of  men  present  equipped  for 
duty  at  98,631.  "To  make  this  army  march  to  Rich 
mond  with  any  hope  of  success  it  must  be  re-enforced 
by  at  least  100,000  good  troops;  any  officer  here  whose 
opinion  is  worth  one  penny  will  not  recommend  a  less 
number,"  wrote  one  of  his  corps  commanders  on  the 
day  of  this  return,  and  strongly  advised  the  removal 
of  the  army  to  Washington.  Whether  to  re-enforce  Mc 
Clellan  or  Pope  was  the  question.  The  former  could 
not  well  be  attacked  in  his  fortified  camp,  nor  could  he 
assault  with  much  prospect  of  success  Lee's  lines,  as 
they  were  much  stronger  now  than  when  he  was  last  in 
front  of  them.  ,  Burnside,  who  had  been  ordered  from 
the  South  to  re-enforce  McClellan,  was  halted  at  New 
port  News,  ready,  as  Mr.  Lincoln  informed  McClellan 


COMMANDS  THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND.   177 

on  July  i4th,  "  to  move  on  short  notice  one  way  or  the 
other  when  ordered."  By  which  he  meant  up  the  Po 
tomac  to  Washington,  or  up  the  James  to  McClellan, 
and  a  week  afterward  he  wrote  McClellan  that  he  would 
decide  what  he  should  do  with  Burnside  in  the  next  two 
or  three'days. 

General  Lee  decided  the  question  for  him.  With 
watchful  eye  he  had  noticed  the  concentration  of  Pope's 
army  and  its  gradual  extension  into  Virginia.  He  saw 
that  it  had  passed  McDowell's  battlefield,  crossed  the 
Rappahannock,  and  was  getting  too  near  to  the  impor 
tant  town  of  Gordonsville,  where  the  railroad  from  Rich 
mond  met  the  one  from  Washington.  He  resolved  to 
stop  Pope,  and,  if  possible,  overwhelm  him  before  he 
could  be  largely  re-enforced  by  McClellan,  for  a  victory 
over  him  would  remove  McClellan's  army  to  Washing 
ton.  On  July  loth  Lee  had  65,419  men,  exclusive  of 
the  Department  of  North  Carolina,  which  was  under  his 
command,  or  some  23,000  less  than  the  army  opposed 
to  him.  This  fact  did  not  deter  him  three  days  after 
ward  from  making  the  disparity  of  numbers  still  greater 
by  sending  a  detachment  of  8,000  men  to  Pope's  front. 
For  the  commander  of  this  force  Lee  wisely  selected 
Jackson,  who  was  so  aggressive  and  so  swift  in  his 
movements  that  he  would  create  a  disturbance  in  the 
guardian  army  of  Washington  before  his  departure  from 
Richmond  would  be  known.  Stonewall  Jackson  left 
Lee  on  July  i3th  with  his  old  division  and  that 
of  Swell's,  both  having  been  much  weakened  by  hard 
marches  and  severe  fighting.  One  week  afterward 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  informed  by  McClellan  that  he  had 
heard  Jackson  had  left  Richmond  by  rail,  going  either 
toward  Gordonsville  or  Fredericksburg,  that  the  move 
ment  continued  three  days,  and  that  he  might  be  going 
against  Buell  in  the  West  via  Gordonsville,  so  as  to 
leave  the  Petersburg  and  Danville  roads  free  for  the 
transportation  to  Lee  of  recruits  and  supplies.  On 
the  same  day  Pope  reported  to  Lincoln  that  Ewell 
was  at  Gordonsville  with  six  thousand  men,  and  Jack 
son  at  Louisa  Court  House,  but  a  few  miles  distant, 
with  twenty-five  thousand,  and  that  his  [Pope's]  ad 
vanced  posts  were  at  Culpeper  and  Madison  Court 


178  GENERAL   LEE. 

House.  Jackson,  the  bete  noir  of  the  Federal  capital, 
was  on  the  war  path,  and  again  produced  consternation. 
Halleck  hurried  to  McClellan,  and  had  a  personal  inter 
view  on  July  25th,  urging  upon  him  to  attack  Rich 
mond  at  once,  or  he  would  have  to  withdraw  him  to  re- 
enforce  Pope.  McClellan  finally  agreed  to  attack  if 
Halleck  would  send  him  twenty  thousand  more  troops, 
all  that  Halleck  could  promise.  McClellan  would  not 
say,  says  Halleck,  that  u  the  probabilities  of  success 
were  in  his  favor,  but  there  was  a  chance,  and  he  was 
willing  to  try  it ;  that  the  force  of  the  enemy  was  two 
hundred  thousand;  and  that  in  this  estimate  most  of 
his  officers  agreed."  His  own  effective  force  was  ninety 
thousand,  which,  with  twenty  thousand  re-enforcements, 
would  make  one  hundred  and  ten  thousand  ;  and  his 
officers  were  about  equally  divided  in  opinion  in  regard 
to  the  policy  of  withdrawing  or  risking  an  attack  on 
Richmond. 

Five  days  before  Halleck's  visit  General  Lee's  army 
numbered  57,328.  Estimating  it  at  60,000  when  McClel 
lan  and  Halleck  were  in  conference,  it  is  seen  the  former 
overestimated  Lee's  strength  only  about  140,000.  The 
interview  between  these  two  officers  highest  in  rank  in 
the  Federal  army  was  productive  of  temporary  respect, 
confidence,  and  friendship.  Halleck  writes  McClellan  a 
few  days  afterward  that  "  there  was  no  one  in  the  army 
under  whom  I  could  serve  with  greater  pleasure." 
McClellan  replies:  "Had  I  been  consulted  as  to  who 
was  to  take  my  place,  I  would  have  advised  your  ap 
pointment ;  and  that  if  we  are  permitted  to  do  so,  I 
believe  that  together  we  can  save  this  unhappy  country 
and  bring  this  war  to  a  comparatively  easy  termination. 
The  doubt  in  my  mind  is  whether  the  selfish  politicians 
will  allow  us  to  do  so."  The  next  few  days  saw  changes 
not  only  in  the  relations  between  these  two  officers,  but 
in  the  plans  and  purposes  of  the  contending  forces. 
Jackson  arrived  at  Gordonsville  on  July  ipth,  and  at 
once  began  to  consider  the  best  way  to  strike  Pope. 
Finding  that  his  antagonist  had  practically  concentrated 
the  corps  of  Sigel  (formerly  Fremont's),  Banks's,  and 
McDowell's,  and  had  nearly  six  times  his  numbers,  he 
wisely  decided  to  apply  to  General  Lee  for  more  troops 


COMMANDS  THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND.  179 

before  he  assumed  the  offensive.  On  July  2jth  Lee 
sent  A.  P.  Hill's  division,  which  gave  him  an  army  of 
18,623.  While  he  could  not  hope  to  beat  the  whole  of 
Pope's  army,  numbering  on  July  3ist,  according  to 
Pope,  40,358,  or,  if  we  accept  the  reports  of  the  various 
corp  commanders,  47,000  men,  the  disposition  of  these 
forces  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  strike  a  part  of  it. 
Banks  was  in  advance  at  Culpeper  Court  House,  with 
his  cavalry  picketing  the  line  of  the  Rapidan.  Jack 
son  always  availed  himself  of  such  opportunities,  and 
promptly  moved  forward  and  crossed  the  Rapidan  on 
August  8th.  Pope,  on  learning  of  Jackson's  advance, 
ordered  Banks  to  move  in  his  direction  from  Culpeper 
Court  House;  so  Jackson  encountered  him  on  the  pth 
about  eight  miles  in  front  of  that  place,  a  short  distance 
west  and  north  of  Slaughter  Mountain  near  Cedar  Run. 
A  well-tested  battle  was  fought,  resulting  in  a  victory 
for  the  Southern  troops,  their  pursuit  being  stopped 
by  night.  Banks  fell  back  to  his  old  position  north 
of  Cedar  Run,  while  Jackson  remained  in  the  field 
next  day,  and  then,  hearing  that  Banks  had  been  heav 
ily  re-enforced,  returned  to  the  vicinity  of  Gordons- 
ville.  The  Confederates  sustained  a  loss  of  thirteen 
hundred  officers  and  men,  including  General  Charles 
Winder,  of  Maryland,  one  of  the  most  promising  and 
gallant  soldiers  of  the  South.  Jackson  mourned  him  as 
one  of  his  most  accomplished  officers.  "  Richly  en 
dowed,"  he  wrote,  "  with  those  qualities  of  mind  and 
person  which  fit  an  officer  for  commanding,  and  which 
attract  the  admiration  and  excite  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
troops,  he  was  rapidly  rising  to  the  front  rank  of  his 
profession.  His  loss  has  been  severely  felt."  By  this 
movement  Jackson,  as  usual,  had  rendered  great  serv 
ice.  The  question  whether  to  re-enforce  Pope  or  Mc- 
Clellan  was  decided.  Stonewall  Jackson  was  in  front 
of  the  army  covering  Washington.  Halleck's  orders  for 
the  evacuation  of  the  Peninsula  by  McClellan's  army 
must  be  carried  out.  Burnside,  hanging  for  so  long  a 
time  between  McClellan  and  Pope,  must  go  to  Pope. 

The  anticipations  of  General  Lee  had  been  realized ; 
it  was  now  a  race  who  should  get  to  Pope  first — the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia  or  the  Army  of  the  Po- 


!8o  GENERAL    LEE. 

tomac.  The  movements  of  the  Southern  general  had 
been  delayed  because  he  did  not  desire  to  risk  the  de 
tachment  of  too  many  troops  from  Richmond  lines  until 
he  had  a  reasonable  confidence  that  McClellan's  offen 
sive  operations  were  at  an  end.  Four  days  after  Jack 
son's  fight  he  determined  to  transfer  the  theater  of 
action  to  Pope's  front,  and  accordingly  ordered  Major- 
General  Longstreet,  with  ten  brigades,  commanded  by 
Kemper,  Jenkins,  Wilcox,  Pryor,  Featherstone,  D.  R. 
Jones,  Toombs,  Drayton,  and  Evans,  to  Gordonsville, 
and  on  the  same  day  Hood,  with  his  own  and  Whiting's 
brigades,  was  sent  to  the  same  place.  Two  days  after 
ward — namely,  August  i5th — General  Lee  proceeded  in 
person  to  join  Longstreet  and  Jackson.  He  was  dis 
tressed  at  being  deprived  of  the  services  of  Richmond, 
his  cheval  de  bataille^  in  the  approaching  campaign.  His 
favorite  riding  mare  was  a  sorrel  called  Grace  Darling. 
When  the  war  began  he  had  her  sent  down  from  Arling 
ton  to  the  White  House.  He  writes  that  he  heard  of 
Grace.  She  was  seen  bestridden  by  some  of  the  Federal 
soldiers,  with  her  colt  by  her  side,  and  adds  that  he  could 
have  been  better  resigned  to  many  things  than  that.  "  I 
have  also  lost  my  horse  Richmond."  (Presented  to  him 
by  some  citizens  of  Richmond.)  "  He  died  Thursday.  I 
had  ridden  him  the  day  before.  He  seemed  in  the  morn 
ing  as  well  as  ever ;  but  I  discovered  in  the  evening  he 
was  not  well.  I  thought  he  was  merely  distressed  by 
the  heat,  and  brought  him  along  very  slowly.  Finding 
at  bedtime  he  had  not  recovered,  I  had  him  bled,  which 
seemed  to  relieve  him.  In  the  morning  he  was  pro 
nounced  better;  at  noon  he  was  reported  dead.  His 
labors  are  over  and  he  is  at  rest.  He  carried  me  very 
faithfully,  and  I  shall  never  have  so  beautiful  an  animal 
again.  His  fate  is  different  from  Grace's,  and  to  his  loss 
I  can  easily  be  resigned.  I  shall  want  but  few  horses 
more,  and  have  as  many  as  I  require." 

Three  days  after  Longstreet,  and  one  day  after  Lee 
left,  McClellan  telegraphed  (August  i6th)  Halleck  : 
"  Movement  has  commenced  by  land  and  water.  All 
sick  will  be  away  to-morrow  night.  Everything  being 
done  to  carry  out  your  orders.  I  do  not  like  Jackson's 
movements.  He  will  suddenly  appear  when  least  ex- 


COMMANDS  THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND.   181 

pected."  It  is  apparent  that  General  Lee  was  confident 
of  McClellan's  withdrawal,  or  he  would  hardly  have  left 
in  person  or  detached  Longstreet  from  Richmond.  On 
Lee's  departure,  General  G.  W.  Smith,  who  had  returned 
to  duty,  was  left  in  command  with  his  own  division 
and  that  of  D.  H.  Hill  (at  Petersburg  commanding 
the  Department  of  North  Carolina),  as  well  as  McLaw's 
and  R.  H.  Anderson's  divisions  and  Hampton's  cavalry 
brigade;  but  on  the  i5th  Lee  telegraphed  to  Mr.  Davis 
requesting  him  to  order  R.  H.  Anderson's  division  to  him, 
and  on  the  iyth  General  G.  W.  Smith  was  ordered  to  join 
him  also.  The  great  value  of  time  was  appreciated  by 
the  Southern  leader.  It  was  his  pl^in  duty  to  force  Pope 
to  accept  battle  before  he  was  joined  by  the  whole  of 
McClellan's  army.  When  Pope  discovered  that  Lee  was 
marching  to  fight  him  he  fell  back  behind  the  line  of 
the  Rappahannock,  though  he  thought  that  river  was 
too  far  to  the  front,  because,  he  said,  "  the  movements  of 
Lee  were  too  rapid  and  those  of  McClellan  too  slow  to 
make  it  possible  with  his  force  to  hold  that  line,  or  to 
keep  communication  with  Fredericksburg  without  being 
turned  on  my  right  flank  by  Lee's  whole  army  and  cut 
off  altogether  from  Washington."  He  was  told  that  in 
two  days  more  he  would  be  largely  re-enforced  by  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  would  not  only  be  secure, 
but  strong  enough  to  assume  the  offensive.  He  was  in 
structed,  he  reports,  to  hold  on  there,  "  and  fight  like 
the  devil."  Lee  therefore  found  Pope  on  the  Rappa 
hannock,  with  his  right  at  the  Waterloo  Bridge  and 
his  left  at  Kelly's  Ford.  He  had  stretched  down  the 
river  as  far  as  he  well  could  so  as  to  keep  his  communi 
cation  open  with  Fredericksburg,  from  which  point 
Burnside  and  Fitz  John  Porter's  corps  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  were  coming.  Lee  was  anxious  to  get  at 
Pope  at  once,  but  there  was  a  river  rolling  between 
them.  From  "  Camp  near  Orange  Court  House,"  Au 
gust  17,  1862,  he  wrote  :  "  Here  I  am  in  a  tent  instead  of 
my  comfortable  quarters  at  Dobbs's  "  (his  headquarters 
in  front  of  Richmond).  "  The  tent,  however,  is  very  com 
fortable,  and  of  that  I  have  nothing  to  complain.  Gen 
eral  Pope  says  he  is  very  strong,  and  seems  to  feel  so, 
for  he  is  moving  apparently  up  to  the  Rapidan.  I  hope 
13 


1 82  GENERAL   LEE. 

he  will  not  prove  stronger  than  we  are.  I  learn  since  I 
have  left  that  General  McClellan  has  moved  down  the 
James  River  with  his  whole  army.  I  suppose  he  is  com 
ing  here,  too,  so  we  shall  have  a  busy  time.  Burnside  and 
King  from  Fredericksburg  have  joined  Pope,  which,  from 
their  own  report,  has  swelled  Pope  to  ninety-two  thou 
sand.  I  do  not  believe  it,  though  I  believe  he  is  very 
big.  Johnny  Lee  saw  Louis  Marshall  after  Jackson's 
last  battle,  who  asked  him  kindly  after  his  old  uncle, 
and  said  his  mother  was  well.  Johnny  said  Louis  looked 
wretchedly  himself.  I  am  sorry  he  is  in  such  bad  com 
pany,  but  I  suppose  he  could  not  help  it."* 

Lee  promptly  decided  to  destroy  the  railroad  in  Pope's 
rear  so  as  to  capture  re-enforcements  and  supplies  from 
the  direction  of  Washington  and  Alexandria,  for  he  knew 
that  the  portion  of  McClellan's  army  which  should  be 
transferred  by  water  would  take  that  route  to  join  Pope. 
This  duty  he  intrusted  to  his  chief  of  cavalry,  J.  E.  B. 
Stuart,  who  had  been  commissioned  as  a  major  general 
on  July  25th.  Three  days  thereafter  his  cavalry  was 
organized  into  a  division  consisting  of  two  brigades 
under  Wade  Hampton  and  Fitz  Lee :  Hampton's,  the 
First  North  Carolina  Cavalry,  Cobb  Legion  Cavalry, 
Jeff  Davis  Legion,  Hampton  Legion,  and  the  Tenth  Vir 
ginia,  while  Fitz  Lee's  brigade  consisted  of  the  First, 
Third,  Fourth,  Fifth,  and  Ninth  Virginia  Cavalry.  When 
these  new  .operations  commenced,  Stuart,  leaving  Hamp 
ton  on  the  Richmond  lines,  moved  Fitz  Lee's  brigade  to 
the  Rapidan,  while  he  went  by  rail  to  join  General  Lee 
at  Orange  Court  House  for  consultation.  After  his  con 
sultation  with  General  Lee,  Stuart  proceeded  to  Verdier- 
ville,  on  the  road  from  Orange  Court  House  to  Freder 
icksburg,  where  he  had  expected  to  find  Lee's  brigade  on 
the  evening  of  the  lyth,  a  proceeding  which  came  very 
near  resulting  in  the  capture  of  himself  and  staff.  Not 
finding  the  brigade  as  contemplated,  he  sent  one  of  his 
staff  officers  in  the  direction  he  expected  to  meet  it  to 
conduct  it  to  his  headquarters.  A  body  of  the  enemy's 

*  Louis  Marshall,  son  of  his  sister,  who  remained  on  the  Federal 
side,  and  was  a  member  of  General  Pope's  staff;  Johnny  Lee  was 
General  Lee's  nephew,  and  met  Marshall  under  a  flag  of  truce  after  the 
fight  at  Cedar  Mountain. 


COMMANDS  THE  ARMY  DEFENDING  RICHMOND.   183 

cavalry,  which  had  started  on  a  reconnoissance  the  day 
before,  was  marching  in  that  direction,  and  into  their 
ranks  in  the  darkness  of  the  night  Major  Fitzhugh,  of 
his  staff,  rode,  and  was  captured.  On  his  person  was 
found  an  autograph  letter  from  General  Lee  to  Stuart, 
disclosing  the  design  of  turning  his  left  flank.  Stuart 
and  his  staff  proceeded  to  pass  the  night  on  the  porch 
of  an  old  house.  He  was  awakened  at  dawn  by  the 
sounds  of  approaching  horsemen  ;  sent  two  of  his  aids 
off  in  that  direction  to  find  out  who  was  coming,  and 
walked  out  to  the  front  gate,  bareheaded,  to  greet, 
as  he  supposed,  his  brigade  commander  ;  but  in  an 
other  instant  he  heard  pistol  shots  and  saw  Mosby* 
and  Gibson  rapidly  returning,  pursued  by  a  party  of 
the  enemy.  He  and  the  rest  of  his  staff  then  rushed 
back,  jumped  over  the  fence,  and  made  across  the 
fields  to  the  nearest  woods.  They  were  pursued  only 
a  short  distance.  When  the  pursuit  stopped,  Stuart 
returned  to  a  point  where  he  could  observe  the  house, 
and  saw  the  enemy  departing  with  his  cloak  and  hat, 
which  he  had  been  compelled  to  leave  on  the  porch 
where  he  had  slept.  Stuart's  hat  was  generally  a  con 
spicuous  one,  having  a  broad  brim  looped  up  on  one 
side,  over  which  always  floated  large  black  feathers,  and 
for  many  days  thereafter  he  was  subject  to  the  constant 
inquiry  of  "  Where's  your  hat  ? "  The  brigade  com 
mander  he  had  expected  did  not  understand  from  any 
instructions  he  received  that  it  was  necessary  to  be  at 
this  point  on  that  particular  afternoon,  and  had  marched 
a  little  out  of  his  direct  road  in  order  to  reach  his 
wagons  and  get  from  them  a  full  supply  of  rations  and 
ammunition.  After  Stuart  reached  the  army,  to  the 
brigade  he  brought  from  Richmond  was  added  another 
which  had  previously  served  in  the  Valley,  and  was  com 
manded  by  General  Beverley  Robertson,  which  consisted 
of  the  Second,  Sixth,  Seventh,  Twelfth,  and  Seventeenth 
Battalions  of  Virginia  cavalry.  Having  detached  a 
regiment  under  Munford  to  operate  on  the  left  of  the 
army,  Stuart  crossed  the  Rapidan  on  the  2oth  with  Fitz 
Lee's  brigade  and  the  remainder  of  Robertson's,  and 

*  John  S.  Mosby,  afterward  the  famous  partisan  officer. 
13 


1 84  GENERAL  LEE. 

proceeded  at  once  to  drive  the  Federal  cavalry  from  out 
of  the  section  between  the  Rapidan  and  Rappahannock 
Rivers,  across  the  latter  stream.  Lee  now  began  to 
extend  his  left,  and  on  the  22d  and  23d  Jackson  moved 
up  the  Rappahannock  River  to  the  Warrenton  Springs 
ford.  Stuart  started  on  his  mission,  crossing  at  Water 
loo  Bridge,  a  point  above  Warrenton  Springs,  and,  mov 
ing  by  way  of  Warrenton,  reached  the  vicinity  of  Cat- 
lett's  Station,  twelve  miles  in  Pope's  rear,  after  dark. 
The  rain  fell  in  such  torrents  and  the  night  was  so  dark 
that  it  was  not  possible  for  him  to  damage  the  road  to 
any  great  extent.  At  that  point  was  encamped  the 
whole  reserve,  baggage,  and  ammunition  train  of  Pope's 
army  as  well  as  his  headquarters  tent  and  personal  ef 
fects.  Stuart  captured  a  number  of  officers  and  men,  a 
large  sum  of  money  in  a  safe  in  one  of  the  tents,  dis 
patches  and  other  papers  of  Pope's  office,  and  his  per 
sonal  baggage.  Had  it  not  been  raining  so  hard  the 
destruction  of  the  railroad  bridges  and  of  the  track 
itself,  as  well  as  an  immense  number  of  wagons,  would 
have  seriously  crippled  Pope,  and  the  object  of  the  ex 
pedition  would  have  been  accomplished.  He  was  obliged 
to  withdraw  before  daylight,  and  returned  to  his  army  at 
Warrenton  Springs  the  next  day,  bringing  back  with  him 
over  three  hundred  prisoners.  Pope  now  ascertaining 
that  Lee  was  turning  his  attention  to  a  flank  movement 
on  his  right,  began  extending  his  lines  up  the  river. 
The  Southern  commander  was  not  content  with  what 
had  been  done  by  Stuart,  and  determined  to  execute  the 
same  movement  on  a  larger  scale,  which  would  have  the 
effect  of  severing  Pope's  communications  with  his  base 
of  supplies  and  compel  him  to  leave  the  lines  of  the 
Rappahannock. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

SECOND    BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS. 

THE  strategy  of  Lee  was  daring  and  dangerous,  the 
conception  brilliant  and  bold.  Self-reliant,  he  decided 
to  separate  his  army  into  two  parts.  On  August  24, 
1862,  he  had  fifty  thousand  troops,  while  Pope,  including 
his  own  army,  had,  with  Reno's  corps  of  Burnside's  army 
and  Reynolds's  division  of  Pennsylvania  reserves,  about 
the  same  number,  which  two  days  later  was  increased  to 
seventy  thousand  by  the  arrival  of  the  corps  of  Fitz  John 
Porter  and  Heintzelman.  Lee  proposed  to  hold  the  line 
of  the  Rappahannock  and  occupy  Pope's  attention  with 
thirty  thousand  troops  under  the  immediate  command 
of  Longstreet,  while  he  rapidly  transferred  Jackson  by 
a  circuitous  march  of  fifty-six  miles  to  a  point  twenty- 
four  miles  exactly  in  rear  of  Pope's  line  of  battle.  On 
August  25th  Jackson,  with  three  divisions  of  infantry, 
under  Ewell,  A.  P.  Hill,  and  W.  B.  Taliaferro,  preceded 
by  Munford's  Second  Virginia  Cavalry,  crossed  the  upper 
Rappahannock,  there  called  the  Hedgman  River,  at  Hin- 
son  Mills,  four  miles  above  Waterloo  Bridge,  where  the 
left  and  right  of  the  two  opposing  armies  respectively 
rested.  The  "Foot  Cavalry"  were  in  light  marching 
order,  and  were  accompanied  only  by  a  limited  ordnance 
train  and  a  few  ambulances.  Three  days'  cooked  rations 
were  issued  and  duly  deposited  in  haversacks,  much  of 
which  was  thrown  away  in  the  first  few  hours'  march,  the 
men  preferring  green  corn,  seasoned  by  rubbing  the  meat 
rations  upon  the  ears,  and  the  turnips  and  apples  found 
contiguous  to  their  route.  After  the  sun  sank  to  rest  on 
that  hot  August  day,  Jackson  went  into  bivouac  at  Salem, 
a  small  village  on  the  Manassas  Gap  Railroad,  having 

(185) 


1 86  GENERAL   LEE. 

marched  in  the  heat  and  dust  twenty-six  miles.  But  one 
man  among  twenty  thousand  knew  where  they  were  go 
ing.  The  troops  knew  an  important  movement  was  on 
hand,  which  involved  contact  with  the  enemy,  and  pos 
sibly  a  reissue  of  supplies.  At  early  dawn  the  next  day 
the  march  was  resumed  at  right  angles  to  the  course  of 
the  day  before,  following  the  Manassas  Gap  Railroad 
and  passing  through  Bull  Run  Mountains  at  Thorough 
fare  Gap.  At  Gainesville,  Stuart,  with  Robertson  and 
Fitz  Lee's  brigades  of  cavalry,  overtook  Jackson,  whose 
subsequent  movements  were  "  greatly  aided  and  influ 
enced  by  the  admirable  manner  in  which  the  cavalry 
was  employed  and  managed  by  Stuart."  On  reaching 
the  vicinity  of  Manassas  Junction,  his  objective  point, 
Jackson  inclined  to  the  right  and  intersected  the  main 
railroad  in  Pope's  rear  at  Bristoe  Station,  four  miles 
closer  to  Pope,  where  he  halted  for  the  night,  having 
marched  nearly  thirty  miles.  That  night  he  sent  General 
Trimble,  who  had  volunteered  for  the  occasion,  with  five 
hundred  men,  and  Stuart,  with  his  cavalry,  to  capture 
Manassas,  which  was  handsomely  done.  Pope  claims 
that  Jackson's  movement  was  known,  and  that  he  re 
ported  it  to  Halleck,  but  on  the  day  Jackson  marched 
Pope  was  disposing  his  army  along  the  Rappahannock 
from  Waterloo  to  Kelly's  Ford.  On  the  night  of  the 
26th,  when  Jackson  began  to  tear  up  the  railroad  at 
Bristoe,  the  nearest  hostile  troops  were  the  corps  of 
Heintzelman  and  Reno  at  Warrenton  Junction,  ten  miles 
away.  The  next  day,  leaving  General  Ewell's  division 
at  Bristoe  to  watch  and  retard  Pope's  march  to  open  his 
communications,  Jackson,  with  the  remainder  of  his 
troops,  proceeded  to  Manassas.  He  found  that  Stuart 
and  Trimble  had  captured  eight  guns,  three  hundred 
prisoners,  and  an  immense  quantity  of  stores.  The  vast- 
ness  and  variety  of  the  supplies  was  a  most  refreshing 
sight  to  his  tired  and  hungry  veterans.  All  of  the  2yth 
his  troops,  transformed  from  poverty  to  affluence,  reveled 
in  these  enormous  stores,  consisting  of  car  loads  of  pro 
visions,  boxes  of  clothing,  sutler's  stores  containing 
everything  from  French  mustard  to  cavalry  boots. 
Early  that  morning  Taylor's  New  Jersey  brigade,  of 
Slocum's  division  of  Franklin's  corps,  which  had  been 


SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS.  187 

transported  by  rail  from  Alexandria  to  Bull  Run  for  the 
purpose  of  attacking  what  was  presumed  to  be  a  small 
cavalry  raid,  got  off  the  cars  and  marched  in  line  of  bat 
tle  across  the  open  plain  to  Manassas.  Fitz  Lee,  who 
with  his  cavalry  brigade  had  crossed  Bull  Run  to  make 
a  reconnoissance  in  the  direction  of  Alexandria,  ascer 
tained  that  Taylor  was  not  supported  by  other  troops 
and  sent  information  of  this  fact  to  Jackson,  suggesting 
that  Taylor  be  allowed  to  march  to  Manassas,  where 
he  and  his  whole  command  would  be  most  certainly 
captured.  The  artillery,  however,  opened  on  the  bri 
gade,  giving  them  notice  that  a  large  force  was  present, 
which  resulted  in  the  killing  of  many  men,  including 
the  gallant  brigade  commander,  and  capturing  many 
others.  The  remainder  beat  a  hasty  retreat.  That 
afternoon  Ewell  was  attacked  by  Hooker's  division  of 
Heintzelman's  corps,  who  had  been  ordered  to  re-open 
the  Federal  communications,  and  retired,  as  he  had  been 
directed,  to  join  Jackson.  This  enterprising  officer,  hav 
ing  executed  General  Lee's  instructions  and  having  torn 
up  the  railroad  and  burned  the  bridges  in  that  vicinity, 
now  determined  to  move  in  such  a  manner  as  to  avoid 
disaster  to  his  own  troops,  while  he  united  them  at  the 
earliest  possible  moment  with  those  under  Longstreet 
en  route  to  his  assistance.  He  had  successfully  thrown 
his  fourteen  brigades  of  infantry,  two  of  cavalry,  and 
eighteen  light  batteries  in  Pope's  rear ;  but  his  position 
was  perilous. 

Two  plans  were  open  to  Pope  after  he  had  ascer 
tained  that  Jackson  was  on  the  line  of  his  communica 
tion  and  between  him  and  his  capital — one  to  throw  his 
whole  force  on  Longstreet  and,  if  possible,  destroy  him, 
and  then  move  with  his  victorious  legions  on  Jackson ; 
the  other  to  hold  Longstreet  apart  from  Jackson  with  a 
portion  of  his  force,  in  which  he  would  be  greatly  as 
sisted  by  the  topographical  features  of  the  country, 
while  moving  with  the  remainder  of  his  command  on  the 
Confederate  forces  in  his  rear.  He  decided  to  adopt  the 
latter,  and  might  have  succeeded  had  he  so  manoeuvred 
as  to  prevent  the  junction  of  the  two  wings  of  Lee's 
army.  There  can  be  no  fault  found  with  the  skillful 
directions  issued  for  the  movements  of  Pope's  army  on 


1 88  GENERAL   LEE. 

Jackson  on  the  27th.  At  sunset  of  that  day  Jackson's 
command  was  still  eating,  sleeping,  and  resting  at 
Manassas.  McDowell,  with  his  own,  Sigel's  corps,  and 
Reynolds's  division  of  Pope's  army,  was  at  Gainesville, 
fifteen  miles  from  Manassas  and  five  from  Thorough 
fare  Gap,  through  which  Lee's  route  to  Jackson  lay,  be 
ing  directly  between  Jackson  and  Lee,  while  Reno's  corps 
and  Kearny's  division  of  Heintzelman's  corps  were 
at  Greenwich,  in  easy  supporting  distance.  Hooker  at 
Bristoe  Station  was  four  miles  from  Manassas,  and 
Banks  and  Fitz  John  Porter  at  Warrenton  Junction  ten 
miles.  On  the  night  of  the  ayth  everything  was  favora 
ble  to  Pope,  and  it  seemed  his  various  corps  would  only 
have  to  be  put  in  motion  on  the  morning  of  the  28th  to 
crush  Jackson.  McDowell  was  told  by  Pope  if  he  would 
move  early  with  his  forty  thousand  on  Manassas  he 
would,  as  Pope  expressed  it,  with  the  assistance  of 
troops  coming  in  other  directions,  "  bag  Jackson  and  his 
whole  crowd." 

But  Pope  made  two  great  mistakes — one  in  not  hold 
ing,  with  a  large  force,  at  all  hazards,  Thoroughfare 
Gap,  five  miles  from  McDowell's  position  at  Gainesville, 
and  thus  shut  the  door  of  the  battlefield  in  Longstreet's 
face.  The  other,  in  supposing  Jackson  was  going  to  re 
main  at  Manassas  in  order  that  he  might  carry  out  his  plans 
to  beat  him;  for  while  Pope  was  arranging  that  night  to 
his  own  satisfaction  his  tactical  bagging  details  for  the 
next  day,  the  three  divisions  of  that  wide-awake  officer 
were  marching  away  from  Manassas :  A.  P.  Hill  to  Cen- 
treville,  Ewell  to  the  crossing  of  Bull  Run  at  Blackburn 
Ford,  and  up  the  left  bank  of  that  stream  to  Stone 
Bridge,  where  the  Warrenton  turnpike  crosses,  and 
Taliaferro,  whose  march  Jackson  in  person  accompanied, 
to  the  vicinity  of  Sudley  Mills,  north  of  Warrenton  turn 
pike  and  west  of  Bull  Run,  at  which  point  Jackson  de 
signed  to  concentrate  his  command.  The  movements 
of  the  two  divisions  across  Bull  Run  were  made  to  mis 
lead  Pope,  and  did  so.  When  he  reached  Manassas  the 
next  day  Jackson  was  not  there.  He  thought  from  the 
passage  of  Bull  Run  he  had  gone  to  Centreville,  and  so 
the  march  of  his  converging  troops  was  directed  upon 
that  point.  Jackson  had  exercised  his  usual  skill  in  the 


SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS.  189 

selection  of  his  position.  He  could  attack  any  of  Pope's 
troops  marching  down  the  Warrenton  turnpike  in  the 
direction  of  Centreville,  where  they  hoped  to  find  him, 
and  at  the  same  time  by  prolonging  his  right  he  would 
be  in  a  position  to  communicate  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment  with  General  Lee  as  he  came  through  Thorough 
fare  Gap  with  Longstreet.  After  Jackson  had  arrived 
at  his  new  position  a  courier  of  the  enemy  was  captured 
by  the  cavalry,  who  was  conveying  a  dispatch  from  Mc 
Dowell  to  Sigel  and  Reynolds,  which  disclosed  Pope's 
intention  to  concentrate  on  Manassas.  One  of  Jack 
son's  division  commanders  writes  that  the  messenger 
bearing  the  captured  orders  "  found  the  Confederate 
headquarters  established  on  the  shady  side  of  an  old- 
fashioned  fence,  in  the  corners  of  which  General  Jack 
son  and  the  commanders  of  his  divisions  were  profoundly 
sleeping  after  the  fatigue  of  the  preceding  night,  and 
there  was  not  as  much  as  an  ambulance  at  his  headquar 
ters.  The  headquarters  train  was  back  beyond  the  Rap- 
pahannock,  with  servants,  camp  equipage,  and  all  the 
arrangements  for  cooking  and  serving  food.  The  prop 
erty  of  the  general,  of  the  staff,  and  of  the  headquarters 
bureau  was  strapped  to  the  pommels  and  cantles  of  the 
saddles,  which  formed  pillows  for  their  weary  owners. 
The  captured  dispatch  roused  Jackson  like  an  electric 
shock  ;  he  was  essentially  a  man  of  action,  and  never 
asked  advice  or  called  council.  "  Move  your  division 
to  attack  the  enemy,"  said  he  to  Taliaferro ;  and  to 
Ewell,  "  Support  the  attack."  The  slumbering  soldiers 
sprang  from  the  earth.  They  were  sleeping  almost  in 
ranks,  and  by  the  time  the  horses  of  the  officers  were 
saddled,  lines  of  infantry  were  moving  to  the  anticipated 
battlefield.  It  was  Stonewall's  intention  to  attack  the 
Federals  who  were  on  the  Warrenton  road  moving  on 
his  supposed  position,  but  after  marching  some  distance 
north  of  the  turnpike  in  the  direction  of  Thoroughfare 
Gap  no  enemy  was  found.  McDowell,  after  sending 
Rickett's  division  to  the  gap  to  retard  the  advance  of 
Longstreet,  moved  it  direct  to  Manassas  and  not  down 
the  Warrenton  pike;  so  finding  this  pike  clear  of  his 
enemy,  he  halted,  and,  keeping  his  flanks  guarded  by 
cavalry,  watched  it,  while  ever  and  anon  he  turned  a 


GENERAL   LEE. 

wistful  eye  in  the  direction  of  the  gap  in  the  mountain 
to  his  right. 

Pope  now  seemed  to  have  lost  his  military  head.  It 
did  not  occur  to  him  that  his  success  lay  wholly  in  keep 
ing  Longstreet  and  Jackson  apart.  Jackson  alone  was 
a  subject  of  concern  to  him.  He  reached  in  person 
Manassas  about  midday  on  the  28th,  and  found  that 
Jackson  had  left  the  night  before  after  burning  five 
thousand  pounds  of  bacon,  a  thousand  barrels  of  corned 
beef,  two  thousand  barrels  of  salt  pork,  two  thousand 
barrels  of  flour,  together  with  large  supplies  of  every 
sort.  While  Pope  was  following  his  supposed  route  to 
Centreville,  Jackson  in  his  war  paint  was  in  line  beyond 
the  Warrenton  turnpike  waiting  for  Longstreet.  He 
Had  evidently  determined  to  attack  any  and  every  one 
who  dared  to  occupy  the  pike  he  was  keeping  open 
for  Longstreet.  It  so  happened  that  King's  division 
of  McDowell's  corps,  which  on  the  night  of  the  2yth 
was  near  Buckland,  in  getting  the  order  to  march  to 
Centreville  had  to  pass  without  knowing  it  in  front  of 
Jackson,  by  whom  he  was  promptly  and  furiously  at 
tacked,  and  a  most  stubborn  contest  followed.  King's 
troops  fought  with  determined  courage,  and  his  artillery 
was  admirably  served.  In  addition  to  the  four  brigades 
of  his  division,  he  had  two  regiments  of  Doubleday's, 
and  fought  two  of  Ewell's  and  three  of  Taliaferro's 
brigades  of  Jackson's  command.  A.  P.  Hill's  division 
was  not  engaged.  It  was  an  exhibition  of  superb  cour 
age  and  excellent  discipline  on  both  sides,  and  a  fight 
face  to  face.  "  Out  in  the  sunlight,  in  the  dying  daylight, 
and  under  the  stars  they  stood,"  neither  side  yielding  an 
inch,  while  brave  men  in  blue  and  gray  fell  dead  almost 
in  each  other's  arms.  Jackson's  loss  was  heavy.  Ewell 
and  Taliaferro  were  both  wounded,  the  former  losing  a 
leg,  while  King  lost  over  a  third  of  his  command.  The 
Federal  commander  held  his  ground  till  i  A.  M.,  when, 
being  without  support  or  orders,  he  marched  to  Man 
assas  Junction.  Jackson,  who  was  not  at  Manassas  or 
Centreville  on  the  days  Pope  desired  him  to  be,  informed 
that  officer  by  this  fight  exactly  where  he  was ;  so  on  the 
2Qtri  Pope  once  more  changed  the  march  of  his  columns, 
still  hoping  he  would  be  able  to  defeat  him  before  being 


SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS.  igi 

re-enforced  by  General  Lee.  General  Lee,  with  Long- 
street's  command,  left  the  Rapidan  on  the  26th  and  fol 
lowed  Jackson's  route.  A  little  before  dark  on  the  28th 
he  reached  and  occupied  the  western  side  of  Thorough 
fare  Gap  with  one  brigade.  At  the  same  time  Ricketts 
came  up  from  Gainesville  with  his  division  and  occupied 
the  eastern  side  of  the  same  pass.  Longstreet  describes 
this  pass  as  rough  and  at  some  points  not  more  than 
one  hundred  yards  wide.  A  turbid  stream  rushes  over 
its  rugged  bottom,  on  both  sides  of  which  the  mountain 
rises  several  hundred  feet.  On  the  north  the  face  of 
the  gap  is  almost  perpendicular.  The  south  face  is  less 
precipitous,  but  is  covered  with  tangled  mountain  ivy 
and  projecting  bowlders,  forming  a  position  unassailable 
when  occupied  by  a  small  infantry  and  artillery  force. 
This  gap  and  the  Hopewell  Gap,  three  miles  north,  if 
seriously  disputed  by  the  Federals  would  have  embar 
rassed  Lee.  Prompt  measures  were  taken  to  prevent  it. 
Hopewell  was  occupied,  and  through  it  three  brigades 
under  Wilcox  were  passed  during  the  night,  while  Hood 
climbed  over  the  mountain  near  Thoroughfare  Gap  by 
a  trail.  At  dawn  on  the  29th,  much  to  General  Lee's 
relief,  Ricketts  had  marched  away  to  join  McDowell. 
At  9  A.  M.  the  head  of  Longstreet's  column  reached 
Gainesville  on  the  Warrenton  pike.  The  troops  passed 
through  the  town  and  down  the  turnpike  and  were  de 
ployed  on  Jackson's  right,  and  ready  for  battle  at  twelve 
o'clock  on  the  29th.  At  daylight  on  that  day,  to  Sigel, 
supported  by  Reynolds,  was  delegated  the  duty  of  at 
tacking  Jackson  and  bringing  him  to  a  stand,  as  Pope 
expressed  it,  until  he  could  get  up  Heintzelman  and 
Reno  from  Centreville,  and  Porter,  with  King's  division, 
from  Bristoe  and  Manassas.  Pope  reached  in  person 
the  battlefield  about  noon,  and  found  nearly  his  whole 
army  in  Jackson's  front.  Longstreet  had  connected 
with  Jackson's  right,  which  Pope  did  not  know,  but  rode 
along  his  lines  and  encouraged  his  men  by  stating  that 
McDowell  and  Fitz  John  Porter  were  marching  so  as  to 
get  in  Jackson's  right  and  rear.  The  Federal  attack 
had  been  principally  made  with  the  center  and  right 
against  Jackson.  The  left,  under  Fitz  John  Porter — 
some  ten  thousand  men — was  stationary,  McDowell  hav- 


192  .     GENERAL  LEE. 

ing  gone  to  the  support  of  the  rest  of  the  army.  Lee's 
line  had  been  advanced  in  the  fierce  contests  of  the  day, 
but  during  the  night  was  retired  to  its  first  position. 

Porter's  inaction  in  front  of  Longstreet  has  been  the 
subject  of  much  comment,  and   did  not  please   either 
Longstreet  or  Pope.     Both  wanted  him  to  attack — Pope, 
because  he  was  under  the  impression  it  would  be  a  flank 
and  rear  attack  on  Jackson's  position  ;  Longstreet,  be 
cause,  having  nearly  three  men  to  Porter's  one,  he  could 
easily  defeat  him.     It  is  certain  that  when  Pope  ordered 
Porter  at  half  past  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  to  at 
tack,  Longstreet's  whole  force  had  been  in  front  of  him 
for  four  hours  and  a  half.     Porter  reported  the  enemy 
were  in  great  force  in  front  of  him.    "  They  had  gathered 
artillery,  cavalry,  and  infantry,  and  the  advancing  masses 
of  dust  showed  the  enemy  coming  in  great  force,"  said 
he.     The  "  indefatigable  Stuart  "  had  ridden  out  in  the 
direction  of  Thoroughfare  Gap  to  meet  General  Lee  and 
inform  him  of  the  exact  position  of  Jackson  and  the 
general  disposition  of  the  troops  on  both  sides.    He  then 
passed  the  cavalry  he  had  on  that  flank  through  Long- 
street's  column  so  as  to  get  on  his  right,  and  directed 
Rosser  to  have  brush  dragged  up  and  down  the  road  by 
the  cavalry  from  the  direction  of  Gainesville  so  as  to 
deceive  the  enemy,  and,  according  to  Porter's  dispatch, 
it  had  the  desired  effect.    Stuart  found  an  elevated  ridge 
in  front  of  Porter,  and  sent  back  and  got  three  brigades 
of  infantry  and  some  artillery,  which,  in  addition  to  his 
cavalry  and  the  effect  produced  by  dragging  the  brush 
and  making  a  great  dust,  gave  the  impression  that  he 
had  a  large  force  in  Fitz  John  Porter's  front.     The  next 
day — the  3oth — Pope,  desiring  to  delay  as  long  as  possible 
General  Lee's  further  advance  on  Washington,  renewed 
the  engagement.     He  advanced    Porter,  whom  he  had 
called  to  him  during  the  night,  supported  by  King's  gal 
lant  division,  to  attack  the  Confederates  along  the  War- 
renton  pike,  while  he  assaulted  with  his  right  wing  Jack 
son's  left.     His  first  impression  in  the  morning  was  that 
General  Lee  was  retreating,  and  he  so  telegraphed  to 
Washington,  having  derived  the  impression  from  the  re 
tirement  of  Lee  the  night  before  to  his  original  lines. 
Jackson  was  still  Pope's  objective  point.    It  was  evident 


SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS.  ^3 

Lee  must  re-enforce  Jackson  or  attack  with  Longstreet. 
He  did  the  latter  after  first  pounding  the  flanks  of  Pope's 
assaulting  columns  with  artillery,  under  Stephen  D.  Lee, 
splendidly  massed  and  served.  Pope  and  Lee  were  of 
the  same  mind  that  day  from  their  respective  stand 
points,  for  as  the  former  was  moving  on  Lee's  center 
and  left,  the  latter  was  marching  to  attack  the  Federal 
left.  A  bloody  and  hard-fought  battle  resulted,  in  which 
the  Federal  troops  were  everywhere  driven  back,  and 
when  night  put  an  end  to  the  contest,  Pope's  line  of 
communication  was  threatened  by  the  Southern  troops 
occupying  the  Sudley  Springs  road  close  to  the  stone 
bridge  on  Bull  Run.  He  could  stay  in  Lee's  front  no 
longer,  for  he  had  been  badly  defeated,  and  that  night 
withdrew  to  Centreville,  having  lost,  since  he  left  the 
Rappahannock,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  nearly 
fifteen  thousand  men.  On  the  3ist  his  army  was  posted 
on  the  heights  of  Centreville.  Halleck  telegraphed  him 
on  that  day  from  Washington  :  "  You  have  done  nobly. 
All  reserves  are  being  sent  forward.  Do  not  yield  an 
other  inch  if  you  can  avoid  it.  I  am  doing  all  I  can  for 
you  and  your  noble  army." 

Pope  now  occupied  a  strong  and  commanding  posi 
tion  along  the  Centreville  heights.  He  had  been  re- 
enforced  by  the  corps  of  Franklin,  which  arrived  on  the 
3oth,  and  Sumner  on  the  3ist,  and  the  divisions  of  Cox 
and  Sturgis.  These  two  latter  amounted  to  seventeen 
thousand  men,  and  the  infantry  of  Sumner's  and  Frank 
lin's  corps  to  twenty-five  thousand.  The  march  of  these 
troops  and  their  junction  with  Pope  had  been  reported 
to  General  Lee  by  the  cavalry,  under  Fitz  Lee,  which, 
having  left  Manassas  the  day  of  Jackson's  arrival  there, 
had  penetrated  the  country  as  far  as  Fairfax  Court  House. 
Near  that  point  the  cavalry  commander  captured  a  squad 
ron  of  the  Second  Regular  Cavalry,  which  was  sent  out 
reconnoitering  by  General  Sumner,  having  surrounded 
it  while  halting  to  feed  their  horses.  The  officers  were 
captured  in  the  house  just  as  they  were  going  to  din 
ner.  The  cavalry  commander  did  not  know  whether 
they  would  be  considered  as  belonging  to  McClellan's 
or  Pope's  army ;  and  as  orders  had  been  received  not 
to  parole  any  of  Pope's  officers,  he  kept  the  Federal 


1 94  GENERAL   LEE. 

officers  with  him,  having  simply  exacted  from  them 
their  pledged  word  that  they  would  not  attempt  to 
escape.  These  officers  rode  with  his  staff  during  the 
battle  of  the  3oth,  and  one  of  them  bore  a  dispatch  for 
the  Confederate  commander,  who  had  sent  off  all  his  staff 
officers  on  the  ground  that  he  had  been  kindly  and 
courteously  treated.  After  the  battles  were  over  they 
were  duly  paroled  and  permitted  to  ride  their  horses  to 
the  Federal  lines  near  Washington.  McClellan  reports 
this  capture  in  a  dispatch  to  Halleck  on  December  3ist, 
and  adds  that  he  had  no  confidence  in  the  dispositions 
made  by  Pope ;  that  there  appeared  to  be  a  total  absence 
of  brains,  and  he  feared  the  total  destruction  of  the 
army ;  while  Halleck,  in  a  dispatch  from  Washington  on 
August  29th,  telegraphs  McClellan,  then  in  Alexandria, 
that  he  had  been  told  on  good  authority  that  Fitzhugh 
Lee  had  been  in  that  town  the  Sunday  preceding  for 
three  hours. 

The  great  strength  of  the  Federal  position  with  the 
large  re-enforcements  Pope  had  received  decided  Gen 
eral  Lee  to  turn  Centreville  by  moving  to  Pope's  right 
and  striking  his  rear  in  the  vicinity  of  Fairfax  Court 
House.  Jackson  was  again  employed  for  this  purpose. 
He  crossed  Bull  Run  at  Sudley,  and  marched  to  the  Lit 
tle  River  turnpike,  pursuing  that  road  in  the  direction 
of  Fairfax  Court  House.  As  soon  as  this  movement  was 
perceived  Pope  abandoned  Centreville.  Hooker  was 
immediately  ordered  to  Fairfax  Court  House  to  take  up  a 
line  on  the  Little  River  pike  to  prevent  Lee's  troops 
getting  in  his  rear  at  the  point  where  it  joins  the  War- 
renton  pike,  the  movement  to  be  supported  by  the  rest 
of  his  army.  As  his  troops  reached  the  vicinity  of  Fair 
fax  Court  House,  Jackson  determined  to  attack  them,  and 
moved  at  once  upon  the  force  which  had  been  posted 
on  a  ridge  near  Germantown  for  the  purpose  of  driving 
them  before  him,  so  he  could  be  in  a  position  to  com 
mand  the  pike  from  Centreville  to  Alexandria,  down 
which  Pope's  troops  must  pass  on  their  retreat.  A  san 
guinary  battle  ensued  just  before  sunset,  terminated  by 
darkness.  The  battle  of  Oxhill,  as  it  was  called,  was 
fought  in  the  midst  of  a  thunderstorm.  Longstreet's 
troops  came  on  the  field  toward  its  conclusion.  The 


SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS.  195 

loss  on  both  sides  was  heavy,  the  Federals  losing  two 
of  their  best  generals,  Kearny  and  Stevens.  The  form 
er  was  a  dashing  officer  of  undoubted  courage  and  great 
merit.  Had  he  lived  he  might  have  been  an  army  com 
mander.  He  rode  into  the  Confederate  lines,  thinking 
they  were  occupied  by  a  portion  of  his  troops.  It  was 
nearly  dark  and  raining.  Seeing  his  mistake,  he  whirled 
his  horse  around,  threw  himself  forward  in  the  saddle, 
Indian  fashion,  and  attempted  to  escape.  A  few  men 
close  to  him  fired,  and  he  fell  from  his  horse.  General 
Lee  had  his  body  returned  to  the  Federal  lines  the  next 
day,  accompanied  with  a  courteous  note  to  Pope. 

On  September  2d  Pope's  army,  by  Halleck's  direc 
tion,  was  withdrawn  to  the  intrenchments  around  Wash 
ington.  While  Pope  was  undoubtedly  overmatched  in 
generalship,  an  analysis  of  his  tactics  on  the  battlefield 
will  show  that  they  are  of  a  higher  order  of  merit  than 
he  is  credited  with,  and  many  of  his  troops  fought  with 
stubbornness  and  courage.  It  is  true  he  did  not  at 
times  seem  to  appreciate  his  situation,  and  his  orders 
were  the  subject  of  rapid  and  radical  change.  He  tele 
graphed  after  the  battle  of  the  3oth :  "  We  have  fought 
a  terrific  battle  here  which  lasted  with  continuous  effort 
from  daylight  till  dark,  by  which  time  the  enemy  was 
driven  from  the  field,  which  we  now  occupy."  Whereas 
the  facts  of  the  case  were  that  the  Confederate  lines  were 
advanced  and  were  only  retired  after  the  fighting  was 
over,  during  the  night,  to  their  former  positions.  The 
very  next  day,  however,  at  Centreville,  he  wires  Halleck 
that  his  troops  were  in  position  there,  "  though  much 
used  up  and  worn  out,"  but  that  he  could  rely  upon  his 
giving  his  enemy  as  desperate  a  fight  as  he  could  force 
his  men  to  stand  up  to,  and  adds  that  he  should  "  like  to 
know  if  you  feel  secure  about  Washington  should  this 
army  be  destroyed."  He  had  still  an  army  much  greater 
than  Lee's,  but  there  was  more  or  less  demoralization  in 
the  ranks. 

General  Franklin,  who  arrived  at  Centreville  on  the 
3oth  with  his  corps,  threw  out  Slocum's  division  across 
the  road  between  that  point  and  Bull  Run  at  Cub  Run, 
to  stop,  as  he  says,  "  an  indiscriminate  mass  of  men, 
horses,  guns,  and  wagons  all  going  pellmell  to  the  rear. 


!g6  GENERAL   LEE. 

Officers  of  all  grades,  from  brigadier  general  down,  were 
in  the  throng."  McClellan  estimated  the  number  of 
stragglers  he  saw  two  days  later  at  twenty  thousand; 
and  Assistant-Adjutant-General  Kelton,  who  had  been 
sent  out  by  Halleck,  puts  the  number  at  thirty  thou 
sand.  Much  uneasiness  prevailed  in  the  Federal  capital, 
disorder  reigned,  and  confusion  was  everywhere.  As  a 
precautionary  measure,  it  was  said,  the  money  in  the 
Treasury  and  in  the  banks  was  shipped  to  New  York, 
and  a  gunboat  with  steam  up  lay  in  the  river  off  the 
White  House,  and  yet  there  was  in  and  around  Washing 
ton  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men.  On  the  ist 
of  September  McClellan  was  again  assigned  to  the  com 
mand  of  the  defenses  around  Washington.  He  had  been 
much  mortified  in  listening  to  the  distant  sound  of  the 
firing  of  his  men,  and  asked  General  Halleck  on  the 
night  of  the  3oth  of  August  for  permission  to  go  to  the 
scene  of  battle,  telling  him  his  men  would  fight  none  the 
worse  for  his  presence  ;  and  that  if  it  was  deemed  best 
not  to  intrust  him  with  the  command  of  even  his  own 
army,  he  simply  desired  permission  to  share  their  fate  on 
the  field  of  battle.  Kelton  had  reported  that  General 
Pope  was  entirely  defeated  and  was  falling  back  to 
Washington  in  confusion,  and  McClellan  reports  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  told  him  he  regarded  Washington  as  lost, 
and  asked  him  to  consent  to  accept  command  of  all  the 
forces,  to  which  McClellan  replied  that  he  would  stake 
his  life  to  save  the  city,  but  that  Halleck  and  the  Presi 
dent  said  it  would,  in  their  judgment,  be  impossible  to 
do  that. 

General  McClellan  having  accepted  command,  on 
September  2d  rode  out  in  the  direction  of  Upton's  Hill 
to  meet  Pope's  army  and  direct  them  to  their  respective 
positions  in  the  line  of  the  Washington  defenses.  He 
met  Pope  and  McDowell  riding  toward  Washington, 
escorted  by  cavalry,  when  the  former  asked  if  he  had 
any  objection  to  McDowell  and  himself  going  to  Wash 
ington  ;  to  which  McClellan  replied :  "  No,  but  I  am 
going  in  the  direction  of  the  firing." 

Lee's  military  plans  had  been  wisely  conceived,  and 
the  tactical  details  splendidly  executed  by  his  officers 
and  men.  Only  three  months  had  elapsed  since  he  had 


SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS.  197 

been  in  command  of  the  army,  and  in  that  brief  period 
he  had  transferred  a  hostile  army  superior  in  numbers 
from  the  lines  in  front  of  his  capital  to  the  redoubts  of 
the  capital  of  his  enemy.  Richmond  had  been  relieved ; 
Washington  was  threatened.  He  could  not  hope  with 
prospect  of  success  to  attack  the  combined  armies  of 
Pope  and  McClellan  in  their  intrenchments  on  the  Vir 
ginia  side  of  the  Potomac,  for  behind  them  they  could 
fight  two  soldiers  where  he  could  bring  only  one  in  front 
of  them.  Apart  from  these  difficulties  a  wide  and  un- 
fordable  river  rolled  between  Virginia  and  Washington. 
His  residence  at  Arlington  had  made  him  familiar  with 
the  topography  of  that  section.  He  had  but  two  al 
ternatives  :  One,  to  withdraw  his  army  and  take  up  a 
line  farther  back  in  Virginia,  rest  and  recruit  his  army, 
and  patiently  wait,  as  was  done  after  the  first  battle  of 
Manassas,  till  his  antagonist  should  again  assume  the 
offensive.  The  other,  to  continue  the  active  prosecu 
tion  of  the  campaign  and  fight  another  battle  while  he 
had  the  prestige  of  victory  and  his  enemy  the  discom 
fiture  of  defeat.  He  determined  to  adopt  the  latter 
method,  and  decided  to  cross  the  Potomac  at  the  fords 
near  Leesburg,  some  forty  miles  above  Washington,  and 
march  into  western  Maryland. 

Having  received  the  approval  of  the  Southern  Presi 
dent  to  this  plan,  he  immediately  proceeded  to  put  it 
into  execution.  First,  because  he  believed  if  he  could 
win  a  decisive  victory  the  fall  of  Washington  and  Balti 
more  would  follow,  with  far-reaching  results.  Second, 
because  it  would  relieve  Virginia  and  the  Confederate 
quartermasters  and  commissary  departments  at  Rich 
mond  of  the  support  of  his  army  for  a  time.  Third,  be 
cause  it  was  hoped  that  large  accessions  to  his  deci 
mated  ranks  would  be  obtained  from  those  who  sympa 
thized  with  his  cause  in  Maryland.  Accordingly,  the 
heads  of  his  columns  were  turned  toward  the  Potomac, 
and  on  September  5th  successfully  crossed  that  river 
and  advanced  to  Frederick,  where  he  established  him 
self  behind  the  Monocacy.  He  had  been  joined  by  the 
divisions  of  McLaws  and  D.  H.  Hill,  which  had  been 
left  at  Richmond,  but  many  of  his  men  were  obliged  to 
be  left  on  the  Virginia  side  on  account  of  their  con- 
14 


198  GENERAL   LEE. 

dition — long  marches  in  bare  feet  had  incapacitated 
them  for  further  service.  His  army  had  been  so  con 
stantly  engaged  in  marching  and  fighting  during  the 
past  few  months  that  its  condition  was  not  favorable  to 
further  active  work.  The  soldier  was  still  there  with 
his  gun  and  his  ammunition,  but  his  clothes — from  the 
hat  on  his  head  to  his  shoeless  feet — were  tattered  and 
torn.  The  army  was  not  presentable  to  the  inhabitants 
of  a  State  who  had  been  accustomed  to  the  sight  of 
Federal  troops  well  clothed  and  well  fed.  It  was  with 
difficulty  they  could  understand  that  these  troops  had 
gained  fame.  The  Southern  feeling  had  been  overawed 
and  kept  down  in  Maryland  for  so  long  a  time  by  Fed 
eral  occupation  that  recruits  from  that  State  did  not 
care  to  join  the  Southern  army  till  it  was  demon 
strated  that  it  could  seize  and  hold  their  territory. 
They  were  not  prepared  to  leave  their  homes  and  ac 
company  the  army  back  to  Virginia. 

Near  Frederick,  on  September  8th,  General  Lee  is 
sued  a  proclamation  to  the  people  of  Maryland  in  ac 
cordance  with  the  suggestion  of  President  Davis,  who 
wrote  him  that  it  was  usual  on  the  occupation  by  an 
army  of  another's  territory.  General  Lee  told  them 
that  the  people  of  the  Confederate  States  had  seen 
with  profound  indignation  their  sister  State  deprived 
of  every  right  and  reduced  to  the  condition  of  a  con 
quered  province.  That  his  army  was  there  to  enable 
them  again  to  enjoy  the  inalienable  rights  of  freemen, 
and  restore  independence  and  sovereignty  to  their  State. 
That  no  constraint  upon  their  free-will  was  intended, 
and  no  intimidation  would  be  allowed.  That  it  was  for 
them  to  decide  their  destiny  freely  and  without  restraint, 
and  that  his  army  would  respect  their  choice,  whatever 
it  might  be;  for,  "while  the  Southern  people  will  rejoice 
to  welcome  you  to  your  natural  position  among  them, 
they  will  only  welcome  you  when  you  come  of  your  own 
free-will." 

Lee's  crossing  the  Potomac  and  marching  to  Fred 
erick  relieved  the  Federal  authorities  from  their  imme 
diate  anxiety  about  the  safety  of  their  capital.  As  he 
had  supposed,  they  determined  to  send  an  army  after 
him,  marching  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  uncover  the  capi- 


SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS.  199 

tal,  because  it  was  feared  that,  after  drawing  their  troops 
away  from  Washington,  Lee  might  suddenly  cross  the 
Potomac  and,  with  the  rapidity  of  march  for  which  he 
was  noted,  seize  Washington,  which  attempt  would  be 
facilitated  by  its  lines  being  weakened  by  troops  taking 
the  field.  The  time  had  arrived  for  the  Federal  army  to 
advance,  but  no  commander  had  been  assigned  to  take 
the  field  with  it.  Halleck  had  intimated  that  McClellan 
would  not  be  allowed  to  have  it.  The  latter  has  stated 
that  he  was  expressly  told  that  no  commander  had  been 
selected,  but  that  he  determined  to  solve  the  question 
for  himself,  so  left  his  "  cards  at  the  White  House  and 
War  Department  with  *  P.  P.  C.'  written  upon  them,  and 
then  went  to  the  field."  That  he  "  fought  the  battles  of 
Antietam  and  South  Mountain  with  a  halter  around  his 
neck."  If  he  had  been  defeated  and  had  survived,  he 
41  would  have  been  tried  for  assuming  authority  without 
orders,  and  probably  been  condemned  to  death."  There 
is  no  doubt  that  at  that  time  much  dissatisfaction  ex 
isted  in  the  Federal  councils  with  McClellan.  His  great 
personal  popularity  with  his  troops,  the  threatened  safety 
of  Washington,  and  the  difficulty  of  finding  a  suitable  suc 
cessor,  all  combined  to  produce  a  negative  acquiescence 
in  his  assuming  command  of  the  army  for  offensive  oper 
ations.  McClellan  pushed  slowly  and  cautiously  his 
march  in  Lee's  direction ;  for  he  said  he  knew  Lee  well, 
had  served  with  him  in  Mexico,  and  had  the  "  highest  re 
spect  for  his  ability  as  a  commander,  and  knew  that  he 
was  a  general  not  to  be  trifled  with  or  carelessly  ten 
dered  an  opportunity  of  striking  a  fatal  blow."  General 
McClellan  was  deceived,  too,  as  usual,  in  reference  to  his 
opponent's  numbers,  which  he  estimated  to  be  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty  thousand  men — about  three  times  the 
actual  strength  of  Lee's  army. 

The  determination  of  the  boundary  line  between 
Maryland  and  Virginia  has  been  attended  with  much 
expense  and  discussion.  It  never  has  been  satisfac 
torily  ascertained,  because,  as  a  talented  son  of  Mary 
land  put  it,  "  there  is  no  real  division  between  them." 
The  acquisition  of  Maryland  would  have  added  a  bright 
star  to  the  Southern  constellation  ;  but  for  many  reasons 
there  was  no  rushing  to  arms  or  many  recruits  added 
14 


200  GENERAL   LEE. 

to  Lee's  army.  The  sons  of  Maryland  in  the  Confed 
erate  army  were  splendid  soldiers,  enthusiastic  in  the 
cause,  and  brave  in  battle;  and  they  knew,  as  the 
Southern  commander  did,  that  a  battle  fought  and 
won  in  western  Maryland,  followed  by  a  rapid  march 
in  the  direction  of  Baltimore  and  Washington,  would  be 
attended  with  immense  results,  and  that  nothing  would 
be  accomplished,  so  far  as  Maryland  was  concerned,  till 
then.  Much  curiosity  existed  in  that  State  to  see  the 
victors  of  the  first  Manassas,  the  Seven  Days'  Battles 
around  Richmond,  and  the  three  days'  combats  on  the 
plains  of  the  second  Manassas.  Inquisitive  crowds 
hung  around  the  commanding  officers.  Jackson  was 
especially  an  object  of  much  interest.  The  magic  name 
of  "  Stonewall  "  had  been  heard  at  the  hearthstones  of 
the  people,  and  they  wanted  to  see  him.  He  was  de 
scribed  by  one  of  them  as  wearing  a  coarse  homespun, 
over  which  flapped  an  old  soft  hat  that  any  Northern 
beggar  would  have  considered  an  insult  to  have  offered 
him.  It  was  reported  that  he  was  continually  praying, 
and  that  angelic  spirits  were  his  companions  and  coun 
selors,  and  a  desire  was  expressed  to  see  him  at  his 
"  incantations."  His  dress  and  deportment  disappoint 
ed  many  who  expected  to  see  a  great  display  of  gold 
lace  and  feathers ;  and  when  he  ordered  his  guards, 
said  a  writer,  to  clear  his  headquarters  of  idle  crowds, 
many  went  away  muttering,  "  Oh,  he's  no  great  shakes 
after  all ! " 

Lee  did  not  move  on  Washington  after  crossing  the 
Potomac,  because  his  numbers  were  too  small  to  en 
counter  the  fortifications  and  large  force  assembled  for 
their  defense.  His  line  of  march  was  so  directed  as 
to  draw  a  portion  of  the  force  at  Washington  after  him 
and  then  defeat  it.  Frederick,  in  Maryland,  was  his  first 
objective  point,  and  then,  it  was  said,  Harrisburg,  Pa. 
The  Monocacy  River,  flowing  from  north  to  south,  emp 
ties  into  the  Potomac  about  twenty  miles  below  Har 
per's  Ferry.  Behind  the  line  of  that  river  he  deter 
mined  to  halt  and  be  governed  by  the  movements  of  his 
enemy.  From  that  point  he  could  open  his  communica 
tions  with  the  Valley  of  Virginia  by  Shepherdstown  and 
Martinsburg ;  resupply  his  ammunition  ;  gather  in  de- 


SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS.  20 1 

tachments  of  his  men  left  behind  in  Virginia,  from  bare 
feet  and  other  causes,  and  fill  up  his  supply  trains.  He 
knew  his  enemy  occupied  Harper's  Ferry  in  large  force, 
and  Martinsburg  in  his  rear,  and  that  his  proposed  line 
of  communication  could  not  be  opened  so  long  as  these 
places  were  garrisoned,  and  that  sound  military  princi 
ples  required  that  they  should  be  evacuated  when  his 
army  passed  beyond  them.  So  did  McClellan,  and 
urged  it  more  than  once.  Halleck,  the  strategist  of 
the  Federal  administration,  differed  from  both  Generals 
Lee  and  McClellan.  Harper's  Ferry  was  in  his  opinion 
the  key  to  the  upper  door  of  the  Federal  capital,  and 
should  be  held  till  the  wings  of  the  Peace  Angel  were 
spread  over  the  republic.  General  Lee  promptly  planned 
to  show -that  McClellan  was  right  and  Halleck  wrong, 
though  it  involved  a  change  of  his  original  designs. 
His  cavalry,  under  the  vigilant  Stuart,  was  at  Urbana 
and  Hyattstown,  and  well  advanced  on  the  road  from 
Frederick  to  Washington,  and  every  mile  of  McClellan's 
march  was  duly  recorded  and  reported.  The  progress 
of  this  officer  was  so  slow,  his  movements  so  cautious, 
that  Lee  determined  to  detach  sufficient  troops  from  his 
army  to  capture  Harper's  Ferry  and  Martinsburg,  and 
bring  them  back  in  time  to  present  a  united  front  to 
McClellan.  Daring,  skill,  celerity,  and  confidence  were 
the  qualifications  of  an  officer  to  execute  the  movement. 
In  Jackson  they  were  all  combined.  He  moved  on 
September  loth  from  Frederick  with  three  divisions; 
crossed  the  Potomac  into  Virginia;  marched  on  Mar 
tinsburg,  which  was  evacuated  on  his  approach;  and 
then  to  Harper's  Ferry,  which  he  reached  on  the  i3th. 
McLaws,  with  his  own  and  Anderson's  division,  was  di 
rected  to  seize  the  Maryland  heights  overlooking  Har 
per's  Ferry,  while  Brigadier-General  Walker  was  in 
structed  to  cross  the  Potomac  below  Harper's  Ferry 
and  seize  the  Loudoun  heights  in  Virginia.  These 
movements  were  successfully  accomplished,  and  on  the 
i4th  Harper's  Ferry  was  closely  invested.  The  heights 
were  crowned  with  artillery  ready  to  open  at  command 
on  the  doomed  garrison.  The  little  village  of  Harper's 
Ferry  lies  in  an  angle  formed  by  the  Shenandoah  and 
Potomac  where  their  united  waters  break  through  the 


202  GENERAL   LEE. 

Blue  Ridge  Mountains.  It  is  a  troop  trap  unless  de 
fended  by  the  adjacent  heights.  Colonel  Miles  had 
strongly  fortified  the  ridge  in  Virginia  called  Bolivar 
Heights,  lying  between  the  rivers;  but  Maryland  heights, 
the  key  to  the  situation,  was  only  feebly  garrisoned.  At 
dawn  on  the  i5th,  in  response  to  Jackson's  order,  a  line 
of  fire  leaped  from  the  mountain-crowned  heights  and 
told  Colonel  Miles,  the  Federal  commander,  in  no  un 
certain  tones,  that  his  surrender  was  demanded.  For 
two  hours  this  plunging  fire  was  maintained,  and  at  the 
moment  A.  P.  Hill  advanced  to  storm  the  town  from  the 
Virginia  side  a  white  flag  was  displayed.  The  firing 
ceased,  and  Hill  entered  the  village  to  receive  the  sur 
render  of  its  garrison.  Jackson's  work  was  well  done. 
Twelve  thousand  men  stacked  their  arms.  Seventy-three 
pieces  of  artillery,  thirteen  thousand  stand  of  small 
arms,  large  numbers  of  horses  and  wagons,  and  im 
mense  supplies  were  the  results  of  his  expedition.  The 
cavalry,  skillfully  conducted  by  Colonel  B.  F.  Davis, 
alone  escaped  on  the  Sharpsburg  road. 

When  Jackson  left  Lee,  five  days  before,  McClellan 
was  less  than  five  marches  from  him.  It  was  necessary 
that  he  should  return  as  soon  as  possible,  so  leaving  A. 
P.  Hill  to  manage  the  details  of  surrender  with  his  other 
two  divisions,  he  marched  day  and  night,  recrossing  the 
Potomac  and  reaching  Sharpsburg  on  the  i6th,  followed 
by  Walker.  For  the  purpose  of  facilitating  this  reunion, 
Lee  had  retraced  his  steps  from  Frederick,  directing 
the  only  two  divisions  Longstreet  had  left  under  Hood 
and  Jones  to  move  to  Hagerstown,  west  of  the  moun 
tains,  while  D.  H.  Hill  with  his  division  should  halt  at 
Boonsboro',  where  were  parked  most  of  his  wagons,  and 
where  he  would  be  only  three  miles  west  of  Turner's 
Pass  on  the  Frederick  road.  Two  days  after  Lee  left 
Frederick,  McClellan  occupied  it,  and  at  eleven  o'clock 
on  the  night  of  the  i3th  informed  Halleck  that  an  or 
der  of  General  Lee's,  addressed  to  D.  H.  Hill,  had  acci 
dentally  fallen  into  his  hands,  the  authenticity  of  which 
he  thought  was  unquestionable.  "  It  discloses,"  said  he, 
"  some  of  the  plans  of  the  enemy,  and  shows  most  con 
clusively  that  the  main  rebel  army  is  now  before  us. 
It  may  therefore  be  regarded  as  certain  that  this  rebel 


SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS.  203 

army,  which  I  have  good  reason  for  believing  amounts 
to  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men  or  more,  and 
known  to  be  commanded  by  Lee  in  person,  intended 
to  penetrate  Pennsylvania."  Lee  was  fortunate  in  hav 
ing  the  Federal  commander  overestimate  his  strength 
by  eighty-five  thousand ;  for  confidence,  a  great  attri 
bute  in  war,  is  much  more  easily  instilled  into  troops 
attacking  an  army  of  thirty-five  thousand  than  one  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand.  But  he  was  unfor 
tunate  in  having  a  confidential  order  to  one  of  his  com 
manders  find  its  way  to  the  headquarters  of  the  enemy. 
General  D.  H.  Hill  was  under  Jackson's  command. 
When  the  latter  received  Special  Orders  No.  191  he 
had  a  copy  of  it  made  and  sent  to  Hill  before  starting 
for  Harper's  Ferry,  which  Hill  produced  after  the  ter 
mination  of  the  war,  and  his  adjutant  general  made  af 
fidavit  that  no  other  order  was  received  at  his  office  from 
General  Lee.  As  Hill  was  to. remain  with  Lee  and  not 
march  with  Jackson,  another  copy  of  this  order  was  ad 
dressed  to  him,  but  how  transmitted  from  Lee's  head 
quarters  to  Hill's  camp,  and  who  was  guilty  of  gross 
carelessness  in  losing  it,  has  never  been  ascertained. 
The  Twelfth  Federal  Army  Corps  stacked  arms  when 
they  arrived  at  Frederick  on  the  i3th,  on  the  ground 
that  had  been  previously  occupied  by  General  D.  H. 
Hill's  division  ;  and  Private  B.  W.  Mitchell,  of  Company 
F,  Twenty-seventh  Indiana  Volunteers,  Third  Brigade, 
First  Division,  found  it  on  the  ground  wrapped  around 
three  cigars.  Little  did  he  think  how  his  discovery 
would  affect  a  great  campaign !  The  knowledge  of  its 
contents  had  a  marvelous  effect  upon  McClellan.  Lee 
had  been  informed  by  his  cavalry  of  McClellan's  reach 
ing  Frederick.  He  did  not  know  that  his  designs  had 
been  disclosed  to  him,  and  therefore  did  not  understand 
the  sudden  life  infused  into  the  legs  of  the  Federal 
soldiers;  but  learning  at  Hagerstown  that  McClellan 
was  advancing  more  rapidly  than  he  had  anticipated,  he 
determined  to  return  with  Longstreet's  command  to  the 
Blue  Ridge,  to  strengthen  D.  H.  Hill's  and  Stuart's 
divisions,  engaged  in  holding  the  passes  of  the  moun 
tains,  lest  the  enemy  should  fall  upon  McLaws's  rear, 
drive  him  from  Maryland  Heights,  and  thus  relieve 


2O4 


GENERAL   LEE. 


the  garrison  at  Harper's  Ferry.  Stuart,  who  had  occu 
pied  Turner's  Gap  with  Hampton's  brigade  of  cavalry — 
this  gallant  officer  having  rejoined  his  army — moved  to 
Crampton's  Gap,  five  miles  south  of  Turner's,  to  re- 
enforce  his  cavalry  under  Munford  there,  thinking,  as 
General  Lee  did,  that  should  have  been  the  object  of 
McClellan's  main  attack,  as  it  was  on  the  direct  route 
to  Maryland  Heights  and  Harper's  Ferry.  When  D.  H. 
Hill,  at  dawn  on  the  i4th,  re-enforced  his  two  advance 
brigades  in  Turner's  Gap,  Stuart  had  gone,  leaving  one 
regiment  of  cavalry  and  some  artillery  under  Rosser  to 
guard  Fox's  Gap,  a  small  one  to  the  south  of  Turner's. 
As  Hill  reached  the  top  of  the  mountain  on  that  Sep 
tember  morning  a  magnificent  spectacle  was  presented. 
Far  as  the  eye  could  reach  flashed  the  bayonets  of 
the  advancing  columns  of  McClellan's  army.  It  was 
a  sight  not  often  vouchsafed  to  any  one,  and  was  both 
grand  and  sublime.  Hill  must  have  felt  helpless  with 
his  five  small  brigades  numbering  less  than  five  thou 
sand  men,  and  must  have  been  impressed  vividly  with 
"  how  terrible  was  an  army  with  banners ! "  It  was 
his  duty  to  retard  the  march  of  this  immense  host, 
to  give  Lee  time  to  get  his  trains  at  Boonsboro'  out  of 
the  way,  to  bring  Longstreet  from  Hagerstown  to  his 
support,  and  to  give  Jackson  time  for  his  work  at  Har 
per's  Ferry.  The  resistance  of  Hill's  troops — from  nine 
in  the  morning  till  half-past  three  in  the  afternoon — to 
the  attack  of  Reno's  corps  reflected  great  credit  upon 
the  capacity  of  the  commander  and  the  courage  of  his 
men.  The  combat  later  in  the  afternoon  between  Long- 
street  and  Hill  on  the  one  side,  and  Burnside  with  the 
two  corps  of  Reno  and  Hooker  on  the  other,  was  marked 
by  great  gallantry  on  the  part  of  both.  Of  the  nine 
brigades  Longstreet  had  with  him,  whose  strength  he 
estimated  at  thirteen  thousand  men  (three  of  his  bri 
gades  were  with  Jackson),  Hill  says  only  four  were 
seriously  engaged.  So  the  struggle  on  the  part  of  the 
Confederates  was  made  with  nine  thousand  men,  one 
third  less  in  numbers  than  their  antagonists.  The  South 
ern  lines  were  generally  held,  but  when  night  put  an 
end  to  the  contest  the  advantage  of  the  position  was 
with  the  Federals. 


SECOND   BATTLE  OF   MANASSAS.  205 

In  a  consultation  that  night  between  Generals  Lee, 
Longstreet,  and  Hill,  it  was  decided  to  withdraw  the 
troops  from  that  point,  and  form  a  line  of  battle  at 
Sharpsburg,  where  he  would  be  in  a  position  to  unite 
with  Jackson,  when  he  should  recross  the  Potomac  at 
Shepherdstown.  Fitz  Lee,  who  had  been  with  his  cavalry 
brigade  in  the  rear  of  the  Federal  army  at  Frederick, 
arrived  at  Boonsboro'  during  the  night,  and  was  directed 
by  General  Lee  to  remain  there  and  retard  as  much  as 
possible  the  Federal  advance  the  next  day.  On  the  morn 
ing  of  the  i5th,  when  the  Federal  army  debouched  from 
the  mountains,  the  cavalry  brigade  was  alone  between 
the  Federals  and  Lee  at  Sharpsburg  to  dispute  with 
their  advance  every  foot  of  ground  between  the  base 
of  the  mountains  and  Boonsboro'.  This  was  done  with 
artillery,  dismounted  cavalry,  and  charges  of  mounted 
squadrons.  The  object  having  been  accomplished,  the 
brigade  was  slowly  withdrawn  and  placed  on  the  left  of 
the  line  of  battle  at  Sharpsburg. 

While  McClellan  was  attempting  the  passage  of 
Turner's  Gap  wjth  his  main  army,  Franklin  with  the 
Sixth  Corps,  supported  by  Couch's  division,  was  strug 
gling  to  get  through  Crampton's  Gap,  where  McLaws 
had  left  a  brigade  and  regiment  of  his  division,  and  a 
brigade  of  Anderson's,  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  pass 
ing  through  the  mountains  at  that  point,  and  threaten 
ing  his  rear  at  Maryland  Heights.  The  work  of  these 
brigades  and  a  portion  of  Stuart's  cavalry  was  well  per 
formed  ;  and  when  the  fighting,  which  had  been  going 
on  from  twelve  o'clock,  ceased  at  night,  Franklin  had 
made  such  progress  that  they  were  withdrawn  also.  On 
the  morning  of  the  i5th,  as  McClellan  was  passing 
through  the  mountains  near  Boonsboro',  Franklin  was 
marching  through  Crampton  Pass  at  about  the  same 
time,  and  occupying  Pleasant  Valley.  Both  were  too 
late  to  relieve  Miles  at  Harper's  Ferry,  who  surrendered 
about  half-past  seven  that  morning.  Franklin  declined 
to  attack  McLaws  after  reaching  Pleasant  Valley,  re 
mained  there  (the  i6th)  without  receiving  any  orders, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  iyth  marched  for  the  battle 
field  at  Sharpsburg,  arriving  at  ten  o'clock. 

McClellan  did  not  anticipate  Lee  would  offer  battle 


2o6  GENERAL   LEE. 

on  that  side  of  the  Potomac.  When  the  head  of  his 
columns  arrived  west  of  the  mountains  he  informed 
Halleck  that  his  enemy  was  making  for  Shepherdstown 
in  a  perfect  panic,  and  that  General  Lee  had  stated  pub 
licly  the  night  before  that  he  must  admit  he  had  been 
shockingly  whipped,  and  that  Lee  was  reported  wounded. 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  well  pleased  with  this  statement,  and 
replied  to  McClellan :  "  God  bless  you  and  all  with  you. 
Destroy  the  rebel  army  if  possible."  A  little  later,  when 
the  Federal  commander  discovered  Lee's  army  in  line  of 
battle  waiting  an  attack,  he  declined  to  make  it,  stating 
that  his  troops  had  arrived  in  Lee's  front  in  sufficient 
force  too  late  in  the  day  to  attack.  He  remained  quiet 
all  the  next  day,  because  he  said  the  fog  had  pre 
vented  him  from  developing  the  situation  of  the  enemy. 
Both  sides  had  lost  heavily  in  the  mountain  passes,  and 
the  deaths  of  such  capable  officers  as  Reno  on  the  Fed 
eral  and  Garland  on  the  Confederate  side  were  greatly 
deplored  by  their  respective  armies. 


CHAPTER   X. 

SHARPSBURG    AND    FREDERICKSBURG. 

THE  small  town  of  Sharpsburg,  lying  amid  surround 
ing  hills,  formed  an  attractive  center  to  the  beautiful 
landscape  stretching  away  on  every  side.  Here,  in  the 
embrace  of  the  Potomac  on  the  west  and  the  Antietam 
Creek  on  the  east,  with  rolling  fields  well  cultivated 
and  fenced,  and  fringed  here  and  there  with  picturesque 
patches  of  woodland,  it  presented  an  inviting  field  for 
battle ;  but  the  rich  fields  were  destined  to  be  plowed  by 
cannon  balls  and  fertilized  with  blood ;  while  against 
such  desecration  the  peaks  above  the  passes  in  the  moun 
tains  loomed  up  in  the  distance,  as  if  pointing  to  heaven 
in  solemn  protest. 

The  position  was  well  selected  by  Lee  to  deliver  a 
defensive  battle ;  and  while  a  big,  though  fordable,  river 
a  few  miles  in  the  rear  was  objectionable,  its  concave 
curve  allowed  each  of  his  flanks  to  rest  on  the  riverr 
though  the  center  of  his  line  of  battle  was  some  three 
miles  to  the  front.  There  could  be  no  overlapping  his 
flanks  by  the  superior  numbers  of  his  opponent,  who 
had  to  meet  a  line  of  battle  at  whatever  point  he  might 
select  for  the  attack.  It  is  true  the  scattered  Southern 
troops  could  have  been  more  easily  concentrated  in 
Virginia  and,  if  necessary,  a  battle  avoided  ;  but  Lee 
had  entered  Maryland  with  the  intention  of  fighting, 
and  did  not  care  to  change  his  plans  until  he  had  ap 
pealed  to  the  God  of  War. 

The  troops  under  Longstreet  and  D.  H.  Hill  were 
leisurely  marched  the  four  or  five  miles  from  Boonsboro' 
to  Sharpsburg.  After  crossing  the  Antietam  Creek  on 
the  morning  of  September  i5th,  Lee  formed  his  line  of 
battle  along  the  hills — Longstreet  on  the  right  and  D. 

(207) 


208  GENERAL   LEE. 

H.  Hill  on  the  left  of  the  road  facing  the  creek,  which 
runs  north  and  south.  General  Lee  reported  that  the 
advance  of  the  enemy  was  delayed  by  the  brave  oppo 
sition  encountered  from  his  cavalry,  and  did  not  appear 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Antietam  until  about  2  p.  M., 
when  the  battalions  began  filing  to  the  right  and  left  of 
the  road,  taking  up  their  position  in  his  front  and  ex 
changing  artillery  salutations.  The  sluggish  creek  flow 
ing  between  the  two  armies  was  spanned  by  four  bridges 
at  the  various  road  crossings  converging  at  Sharpsburg, 
and  was  fordable  at  other  points. 

McClellan,  always  deliberate,  consumed  the  whole  of 
the  i6th  in  making  his  arrangements  for  approaching 
battle,  much  to  General  Lee's  relief.  At  4  p.  M.  in  the 
afternoon  Hooker  from  the  Northern  right  crossed  the 
Antietam  with  instructions  to  take  position  in  front  of 
the  Southern  left,  and  during  the  night  Mansfield's 
Twelfth  Corps  also  crossed.  In  anticipation  of  such  a 
movement  Lee  had  ordered  Longstreet  to  send  Hood 
with  two  brigades  to  prolong  D.  H.  Hill's  left,  so  that 
when  Hooker,  with  three  divisions  under  Meade,  Rick- 
etts,  and  Doubleday  (an  officer  that  Jackson  in  one  of 
the  few  jokes  of  his  life  called  "  Forty-eight  Hours  "), 
proceeded  to  execute  his  orders,  he  found  General  Hood 
across  his  path  with  a  command  equal  in  efficiency  and 
courage  to  the  best  troops  of  either  army,  and  each 
claimed  the  advantage  in  the  engagement  which  fol 
lowed. 

Jackson  reached  Sharpsburg  that  morning  from  Har 
per's  Ferry,  and  Walker  later.  At  night  Hood  was  re 
lieved  by  Lawton's  and  Trimble's  brigades  of  Swell's 
division.  Jackson's  division,  under  General  J.  R.  Jones, 
was  placed  on  Lawton's  left,  supported  by  the  remain 
ing  brigades  of  Ewell,  while  General  Walker  with  his 
two  brigades  was  placed  on  Longstreet's  right.  The 
cavalry  were  located  on  either  flank. 

These  are  all  the  troops  McClellan  would  have  en 
countered  if  he  had  attacked  on  the  i6th.  Anderson's  six 
brigades,  McLaws's  four,  and  A.  P.  Hill's  five — making 
fifteen  brigades — did  not  reach  Lee  until  the  iyth.  After 
they  had  arrived  the  total  infantry  amounted  to  27,255 
men,  which,  with  eight  thousand  cavalry  and  artillery 


SHARPSBURG  AND   FREDERICKSBURG.          209 

would  make  Lee's  army  at  Sharpsburg  35,255.*  Mc- 
Clellan  reports  he  had  in  action,  on  the  lyth,  87,164 
troops  of  all  arms.  He  had  therefore  present  fifty-two 
thousand  more  men  than  Lee.  When  the  inequality  in 
numbers  and  the  difference  in  quality  of  cannon,  small 
arms  and  ammunition,  food  and  raiment  is  considered, 
Sharpsburg,  as  it  is  called  at  the  South,  Antietam  at  the 
North,  is  a  superb  monument  to  the  valor  of  the  Con 
federate  soldier  and  the  tactical  genius  of  a  great  com 
mander. 

The  picture  of  the  private  soldier  of  Lee's  army  at 
Sharpsburg,  as  he  stood  in  the  iron  hail  with  the  old 
torn  slouch  hat,  the  bright  eye  glistening  with  excite 
ment,  powder-stained  face,  rent  jacket  and  torn  trousers, 
blanket  in  shreds,  and  the  prints  of  his  shoeless  feet  in 
the  dust  of  the  battle,  should  be  framed  in  the  hearts  of 
all  who  love  true  courage  wherever  found.  He  was  a 
veritable  tatterdemalion,  loading  and  firing  his  rifle 
with  no  hope  of  reward,  no  promise  of  promotion,  no 
pay,  and  scanty  rations.  If  he  stopped  one  of  the  ene 
my's  bullets  he  would  be  buried  where  the  battle  raged, 
in  an  unknown  grave,  and  be  forgotten,  except  by  com 
rades,  and  possibly  a  poor  old  mother  who  was  praying  in 
her  Southern  home  for  the  safe  return  of  her  soldier  boy. 

Six  corps  of  Federal  troops,  under  Hooker,  Sumner, 
Burnside,  Franklin,  Mansfield,  and  Fitz  John  Porter, 
stood  in  battle  array,  while  Pleasonton  had  forty-three 
hundred  and  twenty  cavalry.  McClellan's  plan  of  battle 
was  to  envelop  the  Confederate  flanks — first  the  left,  and 
then  the  right — and  could  he  have  succeeded  in  break 
ing  through  either  of  them  and  gaining  the  Williams- 
port  road  in  Lee's  rear  and  cutting  him  off  from  the 
Potomac,  his  victory  would  have  been  decisive.  Had 
General  Lee  not  divined  the  main  struggle  would  be  on 
his  left,  McClellan  informed  him  when  he  ordered  Hooker 
over  the  Antietam  the  evening  before  ? 

The  fighting  at  Sharpsburg  on  the  Federal  side  was 
done  by  four  corps,  numbering  fifty-seven  thousand  six 
hundred  and  fourteen  men,  with  a  loss  of  twenty  per 
cent  of  their  numbers.  Porter's  and  Franklin's  corps 

*  General  Lee  told  the  writer  he  fought  the  battle  with  35,000  troops. 


2io  GENERAL   LEE. 

and  the  cavalry,  numbering  twenty-nine  thousand  five 
hundred  and  fifty  troops,  were  not  engaged.  As  all  of 
General  Lee's  army  fought  except  a  portion  of  his  cav 
alry,  the  actual  difference  between  the  active  combat 
ants  was  some  twenty-six  thousand. 

On  that  memorable  autumn  morning,  about  the  cen 
ter  of  his  long,  slim,  gray  battle  line,  Lee  stood  on  a 
large  rock  to  the  right  of  the  Boonsboro'  road,  east  of 
the  town,  calm,  dignified,  and  confident,  as  his  glance 
swept  the  country  in  front.  "  His  fine  form  was  sharply 
outlined  against  the  sky,"  says  a  Confederate  general, 
"  and  I  thought  I  had  never  seen  a  nobler  figure.  He 
seemed  quite  unconscious  that  the  enemy's  shells  were 
exploding  around  and  beyond  him." 

Most  of  the  time  he  was  on  foot,  having  both  arms  and 
hands  injured  before  leaving  Virginia  from  being  thrown 
violently  to  the  ground,  his  horse  making  a  sudden  jump 
when  he  was  standing  by  his  side  with  the  bridle  reins 
over  his  arm.  Some  of  the  bones  in  one  hand  were  broken, 
and  the  other  arm  injured.  He  was  obliged  to  ride  in  an 
ambulance  or  let  a  courier  lead  his  horse.  In  the  tu 
mult  of  battle  he  could  ride  but  little  along  his  lines  on 
his  famous  war  horse  Traveler.  So  McClellan  on  that 
day  had  the  advantage  of  him  as  he  galloped  about  on 
his  black  charger  Daniel  Webster. 

Jackson,  too,  had  been  stunned  by  the  rearing  and 
falling  back  of  a  large  gray  mare  which  had  been  pre 
sented  to  him  a  few  days  before  by  an  enthusiastic  ad 
mirer,  and  was  obliged  to  ride  in  an  ambulance,  but  for 
tunately  recovered  in  time  for  the  battle.  His  horse  at 
Sharpsburg  seemed  to  be  gentle  enough,  for  during  a 
lull  in  the  firing  Jackson  was  found  under  an  apple  tree, 
with  one  leg  over  the  pommel  of  the  saddle,  eating 
apples.  The  fate  of  a  battle  with  Generals  Lee  and 
Jackson  both  in  ambulances  would  have  been  uncertain. 

At  dawn  on  the  iyth  the  Federal  artillery  opened  on 
Hood's  front,  being  directed  against  the  Confederate 
left,  to  mask  and  assist  the  advancing  columns  of  at 
tack  on  Jackson.  "  For  several  hours  the  conflict 
raged,"  says  General  Lee,  "  with  great  fury  and  alter 
nate  success."  The  troops  advanced  with  great  spirit 
and  the  enemy's  lines  were  repeatedly  broken  and  forced 


SHARPSBURG  AND   FREDERICKSBURG.          211 

to  retire.  Fresh  troops,  however,  replaced  those  that 
were  beaten,  and  Jackson's  men  were  in  turn  compelled 
to  fall  back.  General  J.  R.  Jones  was  obliged  to  leave 
the  field,  and  "  the  brave  General  Starke  "  (as  General 
Lee  called  him),  who  succeeded  him,  was  killed.  Gen 
eral  Lawton  was  wounded,  and  was  succeeded  by  Early, 
who  had  been  supporting  the  cavalry  and  horse  artillery 
in  defending  a  most  important  hill,  which  if  occupied  by 
the  enemy  would  have  commanded  and  enfiladed  Jack 
son's  position,  and  who  "  got  in  "  with  his  brigade,  as  he 
usually  did,  at  the  proper  moment.  Hood  and  Early, 
re-enforced  by  the  brigades  of  Ripley,  Colquitt,  and  Gar 
land,  under  Colonel  McRae,  of  Hill's  division,  and  D.  R. 
Jones,  under  Colonel  G.  T.  Anderson,  now  took  up  the 
fighting;  the  Federals  were  again  driven  back,  and 
again  brought  up  fresh  troops.  General  McLaws  ar 
rived  just  in  time  to  meet  them;  General  Walker 
brought  from  the  right,  together  with  Early's  division, 
drove  the  Federals  back  in  confusion,  beyond  the  posi 
tion  occupied  at  the  beginning  of  the  engagement. 

The  long  lines  of  blue  which  first  recoiled  from  the 
walls  of  gray  on  the  Southern  left  were  Hooker's  corps, 
fourteen  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-six  men, 
which  was  to  have  formed,  with  the  Ninth  Corps,  the 
left  of  McClellan's  battle  line,  both  to  be  commanded 
by  Burnside.  But  Hooker  was  ambitious  and  enterpris 
ing  and  secured  permission  to  lead  the  assault  on  Lee's 
left  against  Jackson,  around  the  well-known  Dunker 
Church,  a  mile  to  the  north  of  Sharpsburg  on  the  Ha- 
gerstown  road,  and  over  the  historic  cornfields  and  the 
"  east  and  west  woods,"  where  raged  all  the  morning, 
with  varying  fortunes,  the  bloody  combat. 

As  early  as  7  A.  M.  Hooker  had  given  up  the  task 
assigned  him,  and  Mansfield's  corps,  ten  thousand  one 
hundred  and  twenty-six  in  numbers,  with  flags  flying, 
advanced  to  his  support ;  but  in  the  midst  of  deploy 
ing  his  columns  this  veteran  general  was  killed,  and  in 
two  hours  "  the  corps  seems  to  have  about  lost  all  ag 
gressive  force,"  said  a  Federal  historian.  Sumner's 
corps  marched  next  into  the  battle — Sedgwick's  division 
in  advance.  The  Federal  troops  previously  fighting 
had  melted  away,  and  the  march  of  Sedgwick  in  close 


212  GENERAL   LEE. 

column  of  three  brigades  in  the  direction  of  the  Dunker 
Church  was  unsupported,  and  it  appeared  as  if  he  had 
been  assigned  to  fight  the  remainder  of  the  battle  alone. 
The  First  Corps  had  been  disposed  of  and  Hooker 
wounded  and  carried  to  the  rear,  the  Twelfth  broken 
into  fragments  and  Mansfield  killed.  Sedgwick  was  an 
nihilated  by  the  Confederate  fire  in  front  and  on  both 
flanks.  The  ground  was  strewn  with  the  bodies  of  the 
dead  and  wounded,  while  the  unwounded  men  moved 
rapidly  away.  "  Nearly  two  thousand  men  were  dis 
abled  in  a  moment." 

The  other  divisions  of  the  Second  Corps  under 
Richardson — who  was  mortally  wounded — and  French 
were  ordered  up  to  support  Sedgwick,  but  too  late,  for 
R.  H.  Anderson's  division,  just  from  Harper's  Ferry,  had 
re-enforced  D.  H.  Hill  in  his  position  on  the  famous 
Sunken  road,  which  enabled  the  Confederates  to  vigor 
ously  assume  the  offensive,  and  the  assaults  of  the  re 
mainder  of  Sumner's  corps  were  repulsed. 

The  terrible  carnage  had  progressed  six  hours. 
Franklin,  with  his  Sixth  Corps  from  Pleasant  Valley, 
arrived  about  10  A.  M. — having  sent  Couch's  division  of 
the  Fourth  Corps  to  guard  Maryland  Heights.  His 
leading  division  under  Smith,  whose  advance  brigade 
was  commanded  by  Hancock,  went  to  the  support  of 
Sumner;  a  forward  movement  of  this  division  and  that 
of  Slocum,  which  had  arrived  about  noon,  was  stopped 
by  McClellan,  who  feared  a  counter  attack  on  his  van 
quished  right.  The  attack  on  the  Confederate  left  be 
ing  foiled,  McClellan  next  threw  a  heavy  force  on  the 
Southern  center,  which  was  repulsed  by  a  part  of  Walk 
er's  division  and  the  brigade  of  General  G.  B.  Ander 
son,  and  Rodes  of  D.  H.  Hill's,  assisted  by  a  few  pieces 
of  artillery.  R.  H.  Anderson  came  to  the  support  of 
this  line  too,  and  formed  in  rear.  The  Fifth  Alabama, 
on  Rodes's  right,  was  being  enfiladed  by  battery  fire, 
and  Rodes  gave  directions  to  retire  it,  when  the  whole 
brigade,  through  a  misapprehension  of  orders,  moved 
back,  making  a  gap  which  was  immediately  occupied 
by  the  Federals.  G.  B.  Anderson's  brigade  was  broken, 
its  commander  being  mortally  wounded,  and  Major- 
General  R.  H.  Anderson  and  Brigadier-General  Wright 


SHARPSBURG  AND   FREDERICKSBURG.          213 

were  also  borne  from  the  field  wounded.  General  Lee 
says  that  "  heavy  masses  of  the  enemy  again  moved 
forward,  being  opposed  by  only  four  pieces  of  artil 
lery,  supported  by  a  few  hundreds  of  men  rallied  by 
General  D.  H.  Hill,  being  parts  of  Walker's  and  R.  H. 
Anderson's  commands.  Colonel  John  R.  Cook,  with  the 
Twenty-seventh  North  Carolina,  stood  boldly  in  line 
without  a  cartridge.  The  firm  front  presented  by  this 
small  force,  and  the  well-directed  fire  of  the  artillery 
under  Captain  Miller  of  the  Washington  Artillery,  and 
Captain  Boyce's  South  Carolina  Battery,  checked  the 
progress  of  the  enemy,  and  in  about  an  hour  and  a  half 
he  retired."  Longstreet  states  that  the  only  troops 
there  were  Cook's  regiment,  and  that  as  he  rode  along 
he  saw  two  pieces  of  Washington  Artillery,  but  that 
there  were  not  enough  men  to  man  them,  and  that  he 
put  his  staff  officers  to  work  the  guns,  while  he  held 
their  horses. 

During  the  battle  McClellan  held  Fitz  John  Porter's 
corps,  twelve  thousand  nine  hundred  and  thirty  men, 
with  his  cavalry,  in  reserve  in  the  rear  of  his  center.  The 
"  Little  Napoleon,"  as  he  was  then  sometimes  called, 
was  reserving  it  to  be  used  as  the  Great  Napoleon  em 
ployed  the  "  Old  Guard,"  to  win  a  battle  at  the  oppor 
tune  moment,  or  save  an  army  from  destruction  should 
defeat  ensue.  Had  they  supported  Burnside  even  as 
late  as  his  attack  was  made,  McClellan  might  still  have 
gained  a  great  victory. 

"  In  the  afternoon,"  General  Lee  says,  "  the  enemy 
began  to  extend  his  line  as  if  to  cross  the  Antietam 
below,  and  at  4  p.  M.  Toombs  retired  from  the  posi 
tion  he  had  so  bravely  held.  The  enemy  immediately 
crossed  the  bridge  in  large  numbers,  and  advanced 
against  General  D.  R.  Jones,  who  held  the  crest  with 
less  than  two  thousand  men.  After  a  determined  and 
brave  resistance  he  was  forced  to  give  way  and  the 
enemy  gained  the  summit.  General  A.  P.  Hill  had  now 
arrived  from  Harper's  Ferry,  having  left  that  place  at 
7  A.  M.,  and  immediately  attacked,  while  his  batteries  and 
those  of  D.  R.  Jones  and  D.  H.  Hill  opened  an  enfilade 
fire  north  of  the  Boonsboro'  road,  and  the  Federal  prog 
ress  was  arrested,  seeing  which,  General  Jones  ordered 
15 


2I4  GENERAL   LEE. 

Toombs  to  charge  the  flank,  while  Archer,  supported  by 
Branch  and  Gregg,  moved  upon  the  front  of  the  Federal 
line.  The  enemy  made  a  brave  resistance,  and  then 
broke  and  retired  in  confusion  toward  the  Antietam, 
pursued  by  the  troops  of  Hill  and  Jones  until  he  reached 
the  protection  of  the  batteries  on  the  opposite  side.  In 
this  attack  the  brave  and  lamented  General  L.  O.  B. 
Branch  was  killed,  gallantly  leading  his  brigade." 

While  this  attack  was  going  on,  Lee  ordered  Jackson 
to  turn  the  enemy's  right,  but  found  it  extended  nearly 
to  the  Potomac,  and  was  so  strongly  defended  with 
artillery  that  the  attempt  had  to  be  abandoned.  J.  E.  B. 
Stuart  had  been  selected  to  command  the  advance  in  this 
movement.  The  Union  attack  on  the  Confederate  right 
was  made  by  Burnside's  Ninth  Corps  of  four  divisions. 
It  was  on  the  eastern  side  or  left  bank  of  the  Antietam 
Creek  in  front  of  a  bridge,  and  he  was  ordered  early  in 
the  morning  to  hold  his  men  in  readiness  to  assault. 

At  eight  o'clock  McClellan  says  he  sent  Burnside 
orders  to  cross  the  creek  and  take  the  heights  beyond, 
and  move  so  as  to  gain  possession  of  them  and  cut  Lee 
off  from  the  Williamsport  or  Shepherdstown  road,  and 
Burnside  immediately  prepared  to  execute  them.  Toombs 
had  only  some  four  hundred  Georgians  at  this  bridge, 
but  his  defense  of  the  passage  was  well  executed.  Burn- 
side's  thirteen  thousand  troops  took  three  hours  to  cross, 
and  lost  five  hundred  men.  It  was  now  one  o'clock,  and 
two  hours  more  were  consumed  in  preparations  to  as 
sault  the  ridge  held  by  Jones.  The  opportune  arrival 
of  A.  P.  Hill,  with  his  thirty-four  hundred  men,  saved 
Lee's  right.  Had  McClellan  placed  a  portion  of  his 
large  cavalry  force  on  that  flank,  Hill's  approach  might 
have  been  retarded  and  the  battle  won  before  his  arrival. 
It  is  difficult  to  explain,  too,  why  Couch  was  not  recalled 
from  the  vicinity  of  Maryland  Heights  after  Harper's 
Ferry  was  abandoned  by  Hill. 

The  bloody  battle  of  Sharpsburg,  or  Antietam,  has 
passed  into  impartial  history  as  a  drawn  combat.  The 
next  day  neither  side  would  renew  the  fighting—Lee 
says  because  he  was  too  weak  to  renew  the  offensive ; 
but  that  he  awaited  without  apprehension  the  renewal 
of  the  attack.  He  had  received  reports  that  McClellan 


SHARPSBURG  AND   FREDERICKSBURG.          215 

was  expecting  the  arrival  of  re-enforcements,  and  as  he 
could  not  look  for  a  material  increase  of  his  strength,  it 
was  not  thought  prudent  to  wait  until  his  adversary 
should  be  ready  to  again  fight  a  battle.  During  the 
night  of  the  i8th  his  army  was  passed  to  the  south  of 
the  Potomac,  near  Shepherdstown.  The  enemy  advanced 
next  morning,  but  was  held  in  check  by  cavalry,  who  cov 
ered  his  movements  with  success. 

The  Southern  loss  in  the  Maryland  campaign  was 
ten  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety-one — eight  thou 
sand  at  Sharpsburg.  McClellan's  loss  in  the  battle  was 
twelve  thousand  four  hundred  and  ninety-six.  He  did 
not  claim  a  victory  until  Lee  had  recrossed  the  Poto 
mac.  At  1.20  p.  M.,  during  the  battle,  he  telegraphed 
Halleck  :  "We  are  in  the  midst  of  the  most  terrible  bat 
tle  of  the  war — perhaps  of  history.  Thus  far  it  looks 
well,  but  I  have  great  odds  against  me."  And  at 
8  A.M.  on  the  i8th  he  telegraphed:  "The  battle  of 
yesterday  continued  for  fourteen  hours,  and  until  after 
dark.  We  hold  all  we  gained,  except  a  portion  of  the 
extreme  left.  Our  loss  was  very  heavy,  especially  in 
general  officers.-  The  battle  will  probably  be  renewed 
to-day."  But  it  was  only  on  the  igth — thirty-six  hours 
after  the,  fighting  was  over — that  he  informed  Halleck 
that  "  we  may  safely  claim  a  complete  victory." 

General  Lee's  Maryland  campaign  was  a  failure. 
He  added  but  few  recruits  to  his  army,  lost  ten  thou 
sand  men,  and  fought  a  drawn  battle,  which  for  an  in 
vading  army  is  not  a  success.  It  was  preferable,  in  his 
opinion,  to  consuming  the  substance  of  the  Confederacy 
in  Virginia  after  the  second  Manassas,  and  the  result  of 
a  victory  in  Maryland  was  worth  the  attempt.  McClel- 
lan  threw  two  divisions  of  infantry  across  the  river,  but 
was  driven  back,  the  Confederates  losing  four  guns — a 
part  of  their  reserve  artillery. 

The  Confederate  army  then  moved  back  to  the  Ope- 
quan,  near  Martinsburg,  and  after  a  few  days'  rest  to 
the  vicinity  of  Bunker  Hill  and  Winchester.  McClellan 
occupied  Harper's  Ferry  and  the  surrounding  heights 
with  two  corps  under  Sumner,  and  encamped  the  re 
mainder  near  the  scenes  of  its  late  exploits,  amid  the 
picturesque  hills  and  vales  of  southwestern  Maryland. 
15 


2i6  GENERAL   LEE. 

Rest  with  regular  rations  at  regular  times  was  most 
grateful  to  both  armies,  for  both  were  more  or  less  ex 
hausted.  General  Lee's  two  weeks'  campaign  in  Mary 
land  had  demonstrated  that  his  army,  without  re-enforce 
ments,  was  too  small  for  offensive  operations. 

His  son  Robert  was  at  that  time  a  private  in  the 
Rockbridge  Battery,  and  was  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight. 
Just  after  the  battle  the  general  wrote  to  Mrs.  Lee :  "  I 
have  not  laid  eyes  on  Rob  since  I  saw  him  in  the  battle 
of  Sharpsburg  going  in  with  a  single  gun  of  his  battery 
for  the  second  time  after  his  company  had  been  with 
drawn  in  consequence  of  three  of  its  guns  having  been 
disabled.  Custis  has  seen  him,  and  says  he  is  very  well 
and  apparently  happy  and  content.  My  hands  are  im 
proving  slowly,  and  with  my  left  hand  I  am  able  to  dress 
and  undress  myself,  which  is  a  great  comfort.  My  right 
is  becoming  of  some  assistance,  too,  though  it  is  still 
swollen,  and  sometimes  painful.  The  bandages  have 
been  removed.  I  am  now  able  to  sign  my  name.  It  has 
been  six  weeks  to-day  since  I  was  injured,  and  I  have  at 
last  discarded  the  sling." 

In  his  tent  near  Winchester  he  heard  of  the  death  of 
his  daughter  Annie,  who  had  always  been  the  greatest 
favorite  with  her  father,  and  on  October  26,  1862,  in 
a  letter  to  Mrs.  Lee,  he  said  :  "  I  can  not  express  the 
anguish  I  feel  at  the  death  of  our  sweet  Annie.  To 
know  that  I  shall  never  see  her  again  on  earth,  that 
her  place  in  our  circle,  which  I  always  hoped  one  day  to 
enjoy,  is  forever  vacant,  is  agonizing  in  the  extreme. 
But  God  in  this,  as  in  all  things,  has  mingled  mercy  with 
the  blow  in  selecting  that  one  best  prepared  to  leave  us. 
May  you  be  able  to  join  me  in  saying,  i  His  will  be 
done ! '  When  I  reflect  on  all  she  will  escape  in  life, 
brief  and  painful  at  the  best,  and  all  we  may  hope  she 
will  enjoy  with  her  sainted  grandmother,  I  can  not  wish 
her  back.  I  know  how  much  you  will  grieve,  and  how 
much  she  will  be  mourned.  I  wish  I  could  give  you  any 
comfort,  but  beyond  our  hope  in  the  great  mercy  of 
God,  and  the  belief  that  he  takes  her  at  the  time  and 
place  when  it  is  best  for  her  to  go,  there  is  none.  May 
that  same  mercy  be  extended  to  us  all,  and  may  we  be 
prepared  for  his  summons." 


SHARPSBURG  AND   FREDERICKSBURG. 


217 


It  was  now  McClellan's  turn  to  assume  the  offensive. 
To  cross  the  Potomac,  having  that  river  at  his  back,  and 
to  fight  Lee,  was  too  hazardous  for  a  man  of  his  prudence ; 
but  by  crossing  below  Harper's  Ferry  and  marching  into 
Virginia  he  could  keep  interposed  between  his  capital 
and  the  Confederate  army,  and  at  the  same  time  move 
on  interior  lines  toward  Lee's  capital,  which  would  bring 
Lee  from  the  Valley  of  Virginia  to  offer  battle  at  a  point 
where,  if  he  could  be  defeated,  Richmond  might  fall. 
Both  armies  had  increased  in  numbers.  Three  days 
after  the  battle  Lee  had  40,000  men,  and  McClellan — 
notwithstanding  his  loss  in  the  two  battles,  had  80,930, 
exclusive  of  the  two  divisions  of  Couch  and  Humphreys, 
which  reached  him  the  day  after  the  battle.  The  morn 
ing  report,  dated  September  2oth,  sent  by  McClellan — 
which  included  the  troops  at  Washington  under  Banks 
and  3,500  men  at  Williamsport,  Frederick,  and  Boons- 
boro' — showed  an  aggregate  present  for  duty  of  164,359, 
and  an  aggregate  absent  of  105,124,  making  a  total 
present  and  absent  of  293,798. 

"  General  McClellan  was  never  in  a  hurry,  but 
wanted  to  reach  the  ideal  of  preparation  before  ac 
tion."  He  was  deliberate,  his  Government  impatient. 
The  chasm  between  the  two  was  widening.  The  blood 
on  the  field  of  Sharpsburg  was  not  dry  before  the  Fed 
eral  army  commander  was  expressing  his  regret  that 
every  dispatch  from  his  general  in  chief,  Halleck,  was 
fault-finding;  he  asked  him  to  say  something  in  com 
mendation  of  his  army ;  that  it  had  been  lately  "  badly 
cut  up  and  scattered  by  the  overwhelming  numbers 
brought  against  them  in  the  battle  of  the  iyth,  and  it 
was  only  by  very  hard  fighting  that  we  gained  the  ad 
vantage  we  did.  As  it  was,  the  result  was  at  one  period 
very  doubtful,  and  we  had  all  we  could  do  to  win  the 
day."  On  the  other  side  Halleck  was,  with  Mr.  Lincoln's 
assistance,  putting  hot  coals  on  his  back.  "  The  coun 
try  is  becoming  very  impatient  at  the  want  of  activity 
in  your  army,  and  we  must  push  it  on,"  the  former 
writes,  October  7,  1862.  And  again:  "There  is  a  de 
cided  want  of  celerity  in  our  troops.  They  lie  still  in 
camp  too  long." 

Three   days  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  Southern 


2i8  GENERAL   LEE. 

army  from  Maryland  the  President  of  the  United  States 
issued  his  proclamation  proclaiming  freedom  to  the 
slaves.  It  was  admitted  to  be  a  war  measure,  whose 
purpose,  if  necessary,  was  to  kindle  insurrectionary 
fires  in  the  Southern  States,  which  should  assist  the 
Federal  arms  in  crushing  the  "  Rebellion,"  as  it  was 
termed ;  but  to  McClellan  and  a  large  part  of  his  army 
it  was  objectionable.  In  his  General  Order  No.  163,  of 
October  yth,  in  reference  to  it,  he  deprecated  in  the 
army  heated  political  discussions,  and  reminded  them 
that  the  remedy  for  political  errors  is  at  the  polls,  thus 
widening  the  growing  gulf  between  him  and  his  admin 
istration,  which  President  Lincoln's  visit  to  him  on  Oc 
tober  ist,  and  charging  him  with  being  overcautious,  did 
not  diminish. 

As  soon  as  Lincoln  returned  to  Washington  he 
directed  Halleck  to  order  McClellan  to  "  cross  the  Po 
tomac  and  give  battle  to  the  enemy  and  drive  him 
South."  But  many  suns  were  destined  to  rise  and  set 
before  that  order  was  executed.  General  Lee,  as  well 
as  the  Union  President,  was  growing  impatient,  and 
wondering  why  McClellan  did  not  promptly  obey  or 
ders.  So  he  directed  his  chief  of  cavalry,  Stuart,  on 
October  8th,  to  cross  the  Potomac  above  Williamsport 
with  his  cavalry  and  ascertain  McClellan's  positions  and 
designs ;  to  enter  Pennsylvania,  and  to  do  all  in  his 
power  to  impede  and  embarrass  the  military  operations 
of  his  enemy. 

Stuart  left  the  army  next  morning  with  detachments 
of  six  hundred  men  from  each  of  the  brigades  of  Hamp 
ton,  Fitz  Lee,  and  W.  E.  Jones,  and  four  guns.  He  was 
considerate  in  his  orders  to  his  own  troops,  directing 
them  to  give  receipts  for  everything  that  they  were 
obliged  to  take  in  the  way  of  subsistence  for  man  and 
horse,  and  also  that  whenever  his  column  met  ladies 
in  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  it  should  turn  out  of  the 
road  to  let  them  pass  with  their  conveyances  without 
molestation.  He  marched  to  Chambersburg,  in  Penn 
sylvania,  passing  the  right  flank  of  the  Federal  army, 
and  made  a  complete  circuit,  returning  by  the  left  flank. 
He  rode  eighty  miles  in  twenty-seven  hours,  and  by  his 
swiftness  and  boldness  deceived  and  evaded  every  effort 


SHARPSBURG  AND   FREDERICKSBURG. 


2I9 


to  intercept  him.  "  His  orders  were  executed,"  says- 
General  Lee,  "  with  skill,  address,  and  courage."  He 
had  destroyed  a  large  amount  of  public  property,  re 
ported  McClellan's  exact  position  to  General  Lee,  and 
recrossed  the  Potomac  without  loss.  "  Not  a  man 
should  be  permitted  to  return  to  Virginia,"  telegraphed 
Halleck  to  McClellan  in  informing  him  that  Stuart 
was  at  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  and  was  answered  that,  in 
spite  of  all  precautions,  Stuart  "  went  entirely  around 
this  army  " ;  and  calls  attention  to  his  deficiency  in  cav 
alry,  and  complained  that  "the  horses  of  the  army  were 
fatigued  and  had  sore  tongues,"  which  called  forth  an 
inquiry  from  Mr.  Lincoln:  "Will  you  pardon  me  for 
asking  what  the  horses  of  your  army  have  done  since 
Antietam  that  fatigues  anything?"  And  that  "  Stuart's 
cavalry  had  outmarched  ours,  having  certainly  done 
more  marked  service  in  the  Peninsula  and  everywhere 
since."  And  yet  McClellan  had  received  seventeen 
thousand  nine  hundred  and  eighteen  fresh  horses  since 
the  Sharpsburg  battle. 

At  last  on  October  26th,  three  weeks  after  he  had 
received  orders,  he  began  crossing  his  army  over  the 
Potomac  into  Loudoun  County,  Va.,  at  Berlin,  below 
Harper's  Ferry.  This  occupied  nine  days.  A  slow  con 
centration  of  his  army  in  the  direction  of  Warrenton 
followed.  Lee  met  this  movement,  and  later,  on  No 
vember  3d,  marched  Longstreet's  corps  to  Culpeper 
Court  House  to  McClellan's  front,  and  brought  the  corps 
of  Jackson  to  the  east  side  of  the  mountain.  He  had 
crossed  swords,  however,  for  the  last  time  with  his 
courteous  adversary.  The  axe  had  fallen,  and  with  it 
McClellan's  official  head  into  the  basket  already  con 
taining  Pope's.  General  Order  No.  182  from  the  War 
Department,  dated  November  5,  1862,  announced,  by  di 
rection  of  President  Lincoln,  that  General  McClellan  be 
relieved  from  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Poto 
mac,  and  that  Major-General  Burnside  take  command 
of  that  army. 

"  Late  at  night,"  says  McClellan,  "  I  was  sitting 
alone  in  my  tent  writing  to  my  wife.  All  seemed  to  be 
asleep.  Suddenly  some  one  knocked  upon  the  tent 
pole,  and  upon  my  invitation  to  enter,  there  appeared 


220  GENERAL   LEE. 

Generals  Burnside  and  Buckingham,  both  looking  very 
solemn.  After  a  few  moments  Buckingham  said  to 
Burnside  :  '  Well,  General,  I  think  we  had  better  tell  Gen 
eral  McClellan  the  object  of  our  visit';  whereupon  Buck 
ingham  handed  me  the  order  of  which  he  was  the  bearer. 
I  read  the  papers  with  a  smile,  and  immediately  turned  to 
Burnside  and  said :  *  Well,  Burnside,  I  turn  the  command 
over  to  you.'  "  When  General  Lee  heard  of  it  he  said 
he  was  sorry  to  part  with  McClellan ;  *  not  that  he  an 
ticipated  his  army  would  be  defeated  by  a  change  of 
commanders,  but  it  was  a  satisfaction  to  know  that  as 
long  as  McClellan  was  in  command  everything  would 
be  conducted  by  the  rules  of  civilized  warfare.  The 
soldiers  parted  with  McClellan  with  great  grief,  and 
tears  stood  in  many  an  eye  that  had  learned  to  look  on 
war  without  a  tremor. 

Many  circumstances  directed  Mr.  Lincoln's  course. 
The  entente  cordiale  between  his  Secretary  of  War,  Com 
mander  in  Chief,  and  McClellan  had  been  broken.  The 
little  value  the  latter  placed  upon  time  as  an  important 
element  in  military  operations  had  been  exasperating 
to  them.  It  had  been  charged,  too,  that  his  different 
political  faith  from  the  party  in  power,  his  popularity 
with  his  troops,  and  the  probability  of  his  becoming 
the  presidential  candidate  of  his  party  in  opposition  to 
Mr.  Lincoln,  united  to  effect  his  removal.  It  is  not 
thought  that  this  last  condition  weighed  with  the  Fed 
eral  President,  or  tipped  the  scales,  but  rather  McClel- 
lan's  procrastination  and  his  overcautiousness,  added  to 
an  absurd  overestimation  of  his  opponent's  strength, 
and  the  impatience  of  the  Northern  people  for  more 
battles.  McClellan  was  always  and  everywhere  a  gen 
tleman,  who  believed  in  conducting  war  in  a  Christian 
and  humane  manner.  He  had  strategic,  but  no  tac 
tical  ability.  Risks  have  to  be  taken  when  battle  is 
joined,  but  he  never  took  them.  Broken,  wavering  lines 
were  not  restored  beneath  the  wave  of  his  sword,  and 
his  personal  presence  was  rarely  felt  when  it  might  have 
been  beneficial.  He  had  none  of  the  inspiration  of  war. 

*  General  Lee  said,  after  the  war,  that  he  considered  General  Mc 
Clellan  the  most  intellectual  of  all  the  Federal  generals. 


SHARPSBURG  AND   FREDERICKSBURG.          221 

Lee  had  a  great  respect  for  him  as  a  soldier,  though  he 
counted  on  his  being  slow  when  manoeuvring  in  his 
front.  The  Federal  general  could  organize  with  great 
ability  and  inspire  confidence  in  his  troops,  and  would 
have  been  a  great  commander  had  he  been  more  rapid 
in  his  movements  and  adventurous  in  his  plans. 

His  unwilling  successor,  Ambrose  E.  Burnside,  was 
the  soul  of  good-fellowship,  an  amiable  officer,  and  a 
kind-hearted  gentleman.  He  possessed  these  quali 
ties  as  a  cadet.  The  celebrated  Benny  Havens,  who 
kept  a  saloon  in  the  old  days  outside  of  West  Point 
limits,  had  a  special  toast  which  he  invariably  repeated 
every  time  he  indulged  in  a  stimulant — and  the  repe 
tition  of  the  toast  was  very  frequent  during  the  day. 
He  drank  to  the  health  of  the  two  greatest  men,  in  his 
opinion,  who  had  ever  lived — St.  Paul  and  Andrew  Jack 
son;  but  he  took  such  a  fancy  to  Burnside,  when  he  was 
a  cadet,  that  he  added  his  name  to  his  toast,  and  ever 
thereafter,  to  the  day  of  his  death,  he  drank  to  St.  Paul, 
Andrew  Jackson,  and  A.  E.  Burnside. 

This  officer  conceived  the  idea  of  concentrating  his 
army  on  the  Rappahannock  River  opposite  Fredericks- 
burg.  The  position  there  would  be  about  sixty  miles 
from  Richmond,  and  by  a  short  railroad  to  his  rear  he 
could  reach  the  Potomac  near  Acquia  Creek,  and  then, 
by  water  some  fifty  miles,  his  Washington  base.  He  di 
vided  his  six  corps  into  three  grand  divisions — the  right, 
composed  of  the  Second  and  Ninth,  under  Sumner;  the 
Third  and  Fifth  Corps,  the  center,  under  Hooker;  and 
the  left,  under  Franklin,  consisting  of  the  First  and  Sixth. 
Sumner,  in  advance,  arrived  opposite  Fredericksburg  on 
November  'lyth.  Franklin  was  in  supporting  distance 
on  the  i8th,  and  Hooker  on  the  ipth,  but  their  pontoons 
did  not  arrive  for  eight  days  afterward.  The  vigilance 
of  Stuart  informed  Lee  of  this  movement  on  the  15 th, 
and  he  ordered  at  once  two  divisions  of  infantry  and  a 
brigade  of  cavalry  and  a  battery  to  proceed  to  Freder 
icksburg.  A  forced  reconnoissance  of  Stuart  to  Warren- 
ton  told  him  that  the  whole  of  Burnside's  army  had 
gone  to  the  Rappahannock  opposite  Fredericksburg. 
On  the  iQth  Longstreet  was  ordered  to  Fredericksburg 
with  the  remainder  of  his  corps,  and  Jackson,  who  had 


222  GENERAL   LEE. 

been  moved  to  Orange  Court  House,  was,  about  the 
26th,  ordered  to  Fredericksburg  also.  There  was  much 
deliberation  in  Lee's  movements.  His  army  was  stretched 
out  from  the  mountains  to  the  river,  and  it  was  only  af 
ter  he  was  satisfied  that  the  Federal  army  had  gone  to 
the  Rappahannock  that  he  moved  Longstreet,  and  not 
for  nine  days  afterward  did  he  direct  Jackson  to  unite 
with  him.  He  knew  a  large  army  changing  its  line  of 
communication  with  its  base  of  supplies  required  time 
to  assume  the  offensive. 

When  Sumner  arrived  at  Falmouth,  a  little  village 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  river  a  mile  above  Fredericks- 
burg,  with  his  thirty-three  thousand  men,  across  the 
river  was  only  a  regiment  of  cavalry,  a  battery,  and  four 
companies  of  infantry.  Four  days  afterward  Longstreet 
arrived,  and  his  attempt  to  cross  then  would  have  been 
resisted.  The  surrender  of  the  town  had  been  demanded 
by  Sumner  just  before  the  arrival  of  Longstreet.  If  not 
granted,  the  women,  children,  aged  and  infirm,  could 
have  sixteen  hours  to  leave  their  homes,  and  then  "  I 
shall  proceed,"  said  Sumner,  "  to  shell  the  town." 

Fredericksburg,  a  typical  Virginia  town,  is  built  on 
a  plain  every  foot  of  which  is  commanded  by  the  heights 
opposite  in  Stafford  County.  A  plunging  fire  would  de 
stroy  it,  and  Sumner's  threat  was  a  serious  one  to  the 
inhabitants.  The  man  of  the  house  was  in  the  Southern 
army,  and  it  was  a  heart-rending  experience  for  the 
women  and  children  to  have  their  homes  and  their 
household  goods  battered  to  pieces  with  cannon.  Be 
fore  the  expiration  of  the  time  arranged,  Longstreet 
arrived  and  told  the  authorities  he  would  not  occupy 
the  town  for  military  purposes,  and  that  there  was  no 
reason  why  it  should  be  shelled,  and  this  being  commu 
nicated  to  Sumner,  he  decided  not  to  execute  his  threat. 

It  was  not  wholly  Burnside's  fault  that  he  was  slug 
gish  in  his  preparations.  The  railroad  to  the  Potomac 
had  to  be  prepared,  his  pontoons  were  late  getting  up, 
and  many  unexpected  matters  had  to  be  considered. 
The  twenty-four  days  which  elapsed  before  he  delivered 
battle  were  greatly  appreciated  by  Lee.  It  gave  him 
time  to  concentrate  his  army  and  deploy  and  strengthen 
his  line  of  battle  on  a  most  defensible  position.  He 


SHARPSBURG  AND  FREDERICKSBURG.          223 

would  have  preferred  fighting  the  battle  at  North  Anna, 
a  defensive  point  in  his  rear,  because  it  would  draw 
Burnside  farther  from  his  base,  and  if  in  the  fortunes  of 
battle  he  could  assume  the  offensive,  decisive  results 
would  follow,  and  so  thought  Jackson  ;  but  an  unwill 
ingness  to  give  up  more  of  the  country,  and  a  desire  to 
draw  supplies  from  the  Rappahannock  Valley,  decided 
him  to  fight  at  Fredericksburg. 

Picture  a  river  about  two  hundred  yards  wide  run 
ning  east  the  short  distance  you  see  it,  and  then  south 
east,  the  little  village  of  Falmouth,  in  Stafford  County, 
being  on  its  left,  and  the  town  of  Fredericksburg,  in 
Spottsylvania,  a  mile  below  on  its  right  bank.  Imagine 
a  high  line  of  hills  from  Falmouth  down  the  river  whose 
western  slopes  touch  the  water.  These  are  Stafford 
Heights.  On  the  Fredericksburg  side  a  level  plateau 
stretches  out  to  a  range  of  hills  which,  beginning  at  a 
point  above  the  town,  runs  parallel  to  the  river  for  a 
mile  or  two,  then  extends  back  in  a  curve  for  four  miles, 
until  at  its  southern  extremity  at  Hamilton's  Crossing 
they  gradually  sink  to  the  level  of  the  surrounding 
country.  Along  Stafford  Heights  was  posted  the  army 
of  Burnside — 104,903  infantry,  5,884  cavalry,  and  5,896 
artillery,  making,  by  the  report  of  December  loth,  116,- 
683  men  present  for  duty  equipped.  On  the  Spottsyl 
vania  hills,  a  cannon-shot  away,  lay  Lee's  legions  78,- 
513  of  all  arms,  which  included  the  cavalry  brigades  of 
Hampton  and  W.  E.  Jones,  both  of  whom  were  absent. 

A  river  and  a  plain  lay  between  the  hostile  forces, 
and  the  Northern  troops  had  to  cross  both  to  reach  the 
Southern  position.  The  Federal  batteries  commanded 
the  town  of  Fredericksburg  and  the  contiguous  plain, 
while  the  Confederate  batteries  everywhere  swept  the 
open  plain  nearest  to  the  Southern  lines.  Burnside's 
army  had  to  cross  this  open  plain  in  full  view  of  Lee, 
and  he  knew  that  it  would  be  plowed  by  shot  and  shell, 
and  any  assault  would  have  to  be  made  amid  the  iron 
hail  of  small  arms.  Lee's  position  was  strong  by  nature 
and  made  stronger  by  art.  No  troops  could  success 
fully  assail  it,  and  no  commanding  general  should  have 
ordered  it  to  be  done.  Burnside's  order  for  battle  was 
fathomless;  he  could  not  carry  Lee's  position  by  sur- 


224  GENERAL   LEE. 

prise,  as  he  told  Franklin  he  expected  to,  or  hope  for 
success  least  of  all  by  the  tactics  adopted  and  made 
known  to  his  right  and  left  grand  division  commanders 
on  the  morning  of  battle.  Three  weeks  after  Burnside 
arrived  on  the  Rappahannock,  public  pressure  pushed 
him  across  it.  He  did  not  cross  some  miles  below 
Fredericksburg,  as  first  contemplated,  because  he  said 
Lee  had  divined  his  intention  and  prepared  for  it,  but 
would  cross  directly  in  his  front,  because  General  Lee 
was  not  expecting  it,  and  attack  him  before  re-enforced 
by  the  troops  detached  to  prevent  his  crossing  at  the 
lower  point. 

The  night  of  December  10,  1862,  was  a  long  one  for 
Burnside.  One  hundred  and  forty-seven  rifled  cannon, 
2o-pound  Parrotts,  and  4-inch  siege  guns  were  dis 
tributed  along  Stafford  Heights  by  Hunt,  Burnside's 
able  chief  of  artillery.  The  pontoons  were  placed  in 
position,  and  at  three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
nth  the  task  of  constructing  four  or  five  bridges  oppo 
site  the  town  and  two  miles  below  began. 

Scarcely  had  the  work  commenced  before  Lee's  sig 
nal  gun  announced  the  news  to  his  sleeping  troops.  He 
had  never  contemplated  making  a  serious  resistance  at 
the  river  banks.  To  use  his  own  words  :  "  The  plain 
of  Fredericksburg  is  so  completely  commanded  by  the 
Stafford  Heights  that  no  effectual  opposition  could  be 
made  to  the  construction  of  bridges  or  the  passage  of 
the  river.  Our  position  was  therefore  selected  with  a 
view  to  resisting  the  enemy's  advance  after  crossing, 
and  the  river  was  guarded  only  by  a  force  sufficient  to 
impede  his  movements  until  the  army  could  be  concen 
trated." 

The  Thirteenth,  Seventeenth,  Eighteenth,  and  Twen 
ty-first  Mississippi,  of  Barksdale's  brigade  of  McLaws's 
division,  and  the  Third  Georgia  and  Eighth  Florida  of 
Anderson's  division,  guarded  the  points  where  pontoons 
were  to  be  laid,  and  displayed  such  skill  as  marksmen 
and  such  courage  as  men,  sheltered  behind  the  houses 
at  the  river  banks,  that  the  Federal  army  was  delayed 
at  the  river  bank  for  sixteen  hours,  giving  the  Confed 
erate  commander  ample  time  to  prepare  for  battle. 
During  the  night  of  the  nth  and  succeeding  day  Sum- 


SHARPSBURG  AND  FREDERICKSBURG. 


225 


ner's  two  corps,  with  one  hundred  and  four  cannon, 
crossed  at  the  upper,  and  Franklin's  two  corps,  with  one 
hundred  and  sixteen  guns,  crossed  at  the  lower  bridge, 
and  by  the  night  of  the  i2th  Burnside's  army  was  in 
readiness  for  the  attack.  His  plans  for  the  next  day 
were  ambiguous.  A  Federal  general  reports  him  as 
riding  about  on  the  evening  of  the  i2th  as  if  he  had 
arrived  at  the  conclusion  to  attempt  to  do  something 
with  his  left,  and,  if  successful,  to  do  something  with 
his  right.  The  tremendous  responsibility  of  having  one 
hundred  thousand  men  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  Rappa- 
hannock  was  having  its  full  effect.  He  seemed  to  expect 
Franklin  to  get  in  somewhere  on  Lee's  right  and  Sumner 
on  his  left,  and  these  lodgments  being  made,  the  Con 
federate  line  between  would  have  to  retire  or  be  crushed. 
He  increased  Sumner's  troops  to  about  sixty  thousand, 
and  added  Butterfield's  corps  and  Whipple's  division  to 
Franklin's  command,  giving  him  about  forty  thousand. 
At  5.55  A.  M.  on  the  i3th,  the  day  of  battle,  he  sent 
orders  to  Franklin — which  he  received  two  hours  and  a 
half  afterward  (it  was  said,  because  the  staff  officer  who 
carried  them  stopped  to  get  his  breakfast) — to  keep  his 
command  in  readiness  to  move  down  the  old  Richmond 
road,  and  send  out  at  once  a  division  at  least  to  seize 
the  heights  at  Hamilton's  Crossing,  where  Lee's  right 
rested,  taking  care  to  keep  it  well  supported.  In  an 
order  dated  6  A.  M.,  the  same  morning,  he  directs  Sum 
ner  to  "  push  a  division  or  more  along  the  streets  and 
roads  on  the  line  from  the  town  to  Lee's  left,  with  a 
view  to  seizing  the  heights  in  the  rear  of  the  town,"  but 
not  to  attack  until  he  got  additional  orders. 

Lee  was  quietly  awaiting  him.  Earthworks  had  been 
constructed  at  points  on  the  crests  of  the  hills,  skill 
fully  designed  by  General  Pendleton,  chief  of  artillery, 
and  the  engineer  officers.  His  army  was  divided  into 
two  corps,  under  Longstreet  and  Jackson,  Longstreet 
being  on  the  left.  Anderson's  division  rested  on  the 
river,  and  then  McLaws,  Pickett,  and  Hood  extended  to 
the  right  in  the  order  named.  Ransom's  division  sup 
ported  the  batteries  on  Marye's  and  neighboring  hills,  at 
the  foot  of  which  Cobb's  brigade,  of  McLaws's  division, 
and  the  Twenty-fourth  North  Carolina,  were  stationed, 


226  GENERAL   LEE. 

protected  by  a  stone  wall.  The  Washington  Artillery, 
under  Colonel  Walton,  occupied  the  redoubts  on  the 
crest  of  Marye's  Hill,  and  those  on  the  heights  to  the 
right  and  left  were  held  by  a  part  of  the  reserve  artil 
lery.  Colonel  E.  P.  Alexander  was  in  charge  of  the 
division  batteries  of  Anderson,  Ransom,  and  McLaws. 
A.  P.  Hill,  of  Jackson's  corps,  was  posted  between 
Hood's  right  and  Hamilton's  Crossing.  Early's  and 
Taliaferro's  divisions  composed  Jackson's  second  line, 
while  D.  H.  Hill's  division  was  formed  in  reserve. 
Stuart,  with  two  brigades  of  cavalry,  under  General 
Lee's  son  and  nephew,  was  on  Jackson's  right.  A  dense 
fog  overhung  the  plain  and  river  until  after  9  A.  M., 
obscuring  from  view  the  movements  of  the  Federals. 
Then,  as  the  struggling  rays  of  the  sun  lifted  the  mist, 
it  unmasked  to  Lee  and  his  army  a  picture  unparalleled 
in  surpassing  splendor,  unequaled  in  terrible  sublimity. 

From  his  lofty  position  on  Telegraph  Hill,  in  the 
center  of  his  line,  Lee  saw  the  mass  of  Federals  de 
ploying  in  A.  P.  Hill's  front.  Franklin  was  about  to 
assault  with  "  one  division  at  least,"  as  ordered.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  his  attack  was  afterward  made  with  Rey- 
nolds's  First  Corps  of  three  divisions,  under  Meade, 
Gibbon,  and  Doubleday.  Meade,  an  excellent  soldier, 
was  sent  in  first;  Gibbon  to  support  him,  and  Double- 
day  to  follow.  Meade  selected  for  his  point  of  attack 
the  place  where  the  ridge  on  Lee's  right  terminated 
and  where  it  gradually  reached  the  level  of  the  plain. 
It  was  a  salient  point,  and  at  its  southern  end  devoid 
of  fortification.  Stuart  had  placed  his  cavalry  and 
horse  artillery  far  out  on  the  plain,  and  his  guns  enfi 
laded  the  march  of  this  attacking  column.  The  fire 
of  his  horse  artillery,  under  his  celebrated  boy  chief, 
Pelham,  was  very  effective.  The  second  ball  from  a 
Whitworth  gun  tore  through  the  knapsack  of  a  Federal 
infantryman,  distributed  his  clothing  to  the  winds,  threw 
a  pack  of  playing  cards  twenty  feet  in  the  air,  and 
created  consternation  and  death  as  it  flew  a  long  dis 
tance  down  the  line.  Doubleday's  division  was  halted 
by  Pelham's  fire  and  the  presence  of  cavalry  on  its  flank, 
and  Reynolds  was  deprived  of  its  support,  and  with  only 
two  divisions  and  two  regiments  of  Stoneman's  Third 


SHARPSBURG  AND  FREDERICKSBURG. 

Corps  was  attempting  to  overthrow  Jackson,  who  lay  in 
his  front  with  thirty  thousand  men  in  a  sheltered,  and 
for  a  portion  of  the  line,  fortified  position.  Why  Rey 
nolds  was  not  supported  by  Smith's  Sixth  Corps  of 
twenty-four  thousand  men,  which  was  a  short  distance 
behind  him,  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  war.  Franklin 
would  still  have  had  fourteen  thousand  men — namely, 
two  divisions  of  the  Third  Corps  and  one  of  the  Ninth 
— exclusive  of  thirty-five  hundred  cavalry,  under  the 
gallant  Bayard,  as  a  reserve.  The  Federal  advance 
marched  to  destruction.  Meade  broke  through  a  gap 
in  Jackson's  line  between  Thomas's  and  Archer's  bri 
gade,  but  fresh  troops  came  up  under  Taliaferro  and 
Early,  amid  cries  of  "  Here  comes  Old  Jubal !  "  "  Let 
Jubal  straighten  that  fence  !  "  and  it  was  securely  rebuilt. 

The  Union  troops  were  broken  and  driven  back  with 
great  slaughter.  Meade  lost  in  killed,  wounded,  and 
missing,  1,853,  and  Gibbon  1,266  men,  in  a  short,  fierce, 
furious  and  useless  combat.  Meade  told  Franklin  he 
41  found  it  quite  hot,"  taking  off  his  slouch  hat  and  show 
ing  two  bullet  holes  between  which  and  the  top  of  his 
head  there  must  have  been  little  space.  To  Lee — calm, 
self-contained  and  self-reliant  as  Wellington  at  Water 
loo — from  his  position  on  Telegraph  (since  called  Lee's) 
Hill,  the  movement  appeared  like  an  armed  reconnois- 
sance,  and  was  only  considered  a  precursor  to  something 
more  serious.  Jackson  was  much  pleased  at  the  result 
on  his  front.  He  appeared  that  day  for  the  first  and 
last  time  in  a  bright  new  uniform  which  replaced  his 
former  dingy  suit,  having  actually  exchanged  his  faded 
old  cap  for  another  which  was  resplendent  in  gold  lace, 
a  present  from  J.  E.  B.  Stuart.  It  was  a  most  remark 
able  metamorphosis  of  his  former  self,  and  his  men  did 
not  like  it,  fearing,  as  some  of  them  said,  that  "  Old  Jack 
would  be  afraid  of  his  clothes  and  would  not  get  down 
to  his  work." 

Burnside's  plans  seem  to  have  been  to  attack  simul 
taneously  on  both  of  Lee's  flanks,  like  Napoleon  when 
he  had  the  river  and  three  bridges  behind  him  at  Dres 
den,  and  he  may  have  reasoned,  as  did  that  great  French 
soldier,  that  an  assault  on  both  flanks  would  demoralize 
the  center,  which  he  would  overwhelm  by  concentrated 


228  GENERAL   LEE. 

attack.  Sumner's  right  grand  division  held  the  town. 
Couch's  Second  Corps  occupied  it,  and  Wilcox's  Ninth 
Corps  stretched  out  from  Couch's  left  toward  Franklin's 
right.  At  8.15  A.  M.  Couch  received  an  order  from  Sum- 
ner,  who  was  across  the  river  at  the  Lacy  House,  "to 
form  a  column  of  a  division  for  the  purpose  of  seizing 
the  heights  in  the  rear  of  the  town  " ;  to  advance  in 
three  lines,  and  be  supported  by  another  division  to  be 
formed  in  the  same  manner  as  the  leading  division ;  but 
the  movement  should  not  begin  until  further  orders. 
French's  division  in  column  of  three  brigades,  at  two 
hundred  yards'  interval,  was  selected  to  lead,  Hancock's 
in  similar  formation  to  follow.  About  eleven  o'clock,  the 
fog  lifting,  Couch  signaled  to  Sumner  that  he  was  ready, 
and  received  orders  to  move.  The  troops  debouched 
from  the  town,  crossed  with  difficulty  the  bed  of  an  old 
canal  at  right  angles  to  their  course,  and  deployed  along 
the  bank  bordering  the  plain  over  which  they  were  to 
charge.  At  this  time  Burnside,  the  army  commander, 
was  two  miles  away,  across  the  river  at  his  headquar 
ters,  the  Phillips  House.  Sumner,  the  right  grand  com 
mander,  was  at  his  headquarters  also,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Rappahannock.  Couch,  in  command  of  the  corps, 
and  Howard,  his  remaining  division  commander,  climbed 
the  steeple  of  the  courthouse  in  the  town,  and  the  bat 
tle  began.  It  was  not  long  before  Couch  exclaimed 
to  Howard :  "  Oh,  great  God !  See  how  our  men, 
our  brave  fellows,  are  falling ! "  And  so  they  were. 
They  "  could  not  make  reply  "  or  protest,  and  nothing 
was  left  but  "to  do  and  die."  "I  remember,"  said 
Couch,  "that  the  whole  plain  was  covered  with  men 
prostrate  and  dropping,  the  live  men  running  here  and 
there,  and  in  front,  closing  upon  each  other,  and  the 
wounded  coming  back.  The  commands  seemed  to  be 
mixed  up.  I  had  never  before  seen  fighting  like  that,  or 
anything  approaching  it  in  terrible  uproar  and  destruc 
tion.  There  was  no  cheering  on  the  part  of  the  men, 
but  a  stubborn  determination  to  obey  orders  and  do 
their  duty.  As  they  charged,  the  artillery  fire  would 
break  their  formation  and  they  would  get  mixed.  Then 
they  would  close  up  together,  everywhere  receiving  the 
withering  infantry  fire,  and  those  who  were  able  would 


SHARPSBURG  AND   FREDERICKSBURG. 


229 


run  to  the  lines  and  fight  as  best  they  could ;  and  then 
the  next  brigade  coming  up  in  succession  would  do  its 
duty  and  melt  like  snow  coming  down  on  a  warm  morn 
ing."  Hancock  and  French  sent  promptly  for  assistance. 
Two  brigades  of  Wilcox's  corps  were  sent  to  the  slaugh 
ter  pen,  and  one  of  Howard's,  and  then  a  division  of 
Stoneman's,  of  Hooker's  center  grand  division,  as  well 
as  Gifford's  division  of  Butterfield's  corps.  The  other 
divisions  of  the  same  corps  were  also  put  in  supporting 
distance,  and  it  now  began  to  look  like  a  genuine  at 
tempt  to  crush  Lee's  left.  At  3  p.  M.  Couch  was  told  by 
a  dispatch  from  Sumner  that  Hooker  had  been  ordered 
to  put  in  everything.  "  His  coming  to  me,"  said  Couch, 
"was  like  the  breaking  out  of  the  sun  in  the  storm."  It 
had  been  demonstrated  the  storm  was  there,  but  what 
became  of  the  sun  ?  Hooker  consulted  Hancock,  who 
had  been  in  the  leaden  hail  and  had  lost  two  thousand 
out  of  five  thousand  men  composing  his  division  in  a 
very  brief  interval  of  time,  after  which,  without  obeying 
orders,  he  rode  back  at  2  p.  M.  across  the  river  to  Burn- 
side,  and  did  not  return  for  two  hours. 

The  battery  of  artillery  on  Marye's  Hill  was  relieved 
in  the  meantime  by  fresh  batteries,  under  Wolfolk  and 
Moody,  which  produced  the  impression  that  the  hill 
was  being  abandoned,  so  Couch  directed  Humphreys 
to  attack  with  his  two  brigades  and  Getty's  division  of 
the  Ninth  Corps.  This  was  bravely  done,  but  with  the 
same  result.  Humphreys  lost  seventeen  hundred  out 
of  three  thousand  men.  It  was  hardly  possible  for 
Hooker's  whole  army  to  have  carried  Marye's  Hill  by 
direct  assault  as  long  as  Confederate  ammunition  lasted. 
It  resisted  the  successive  charges  of  the  Federals  as 
Gibraltar  withstands  the  surging  seas.  It  was  defended 
by  the  famous  battalion  of  Washington  Artillery  from 
New  Orleans.  The  men  and  officers  were  full  of  fight, 
enthusiastic,  vigilant,  enterprising,  and  brave.  No  mis 
take  had  been  made  in  committing  this  important  post 
to  that  organization.  Around  and  stretching  on  either 
side  was  the  left  wing  of  the  army.  Marye's  Hill  met 
the  streets  leading  from  the  town,  and  offered  the  most 
inviting  point  of  attack.  The  front  sloped  to  a  sunken 
road,  on  the  town  side  of  which  was  a  stone  wall  some 
16 


230 


GENERAL   LEE. 


four  feet  high ;  the  exacavated  dirt  had  been  thrown  on 
the  other  side  of  the  wall,  so  that  no  part  of  the  wall 
showed  on  the  side  of  the  Federal  advance,  and  their 
troops  were  in  ignorance  of  its  existence.  Behind  this 
wall,  four  files  deep,  was  the  Georgia  brigade  of  Gen 
eral  Thomas  R.  Cobb,  which  was  afterward  re-enforced 
by  portions  of  Kershaw's  and  Cook's  brigades.  To  reach 
this  wall  the  Union  troops  were  obliged  to  march  over 
a  plain  swept  by  artillery.  General  E.  P.  Alexander, 
Longstreet's  accomplished  artilleryman,  remarked  before 
the  battle  :  "We  cover  that  ground  now  so  well  that  we 
will  comb  it  as  with  a  fine-toothed  comb.  A  chicken 
could  not  live  on  that  field  when  we  open  on  it." 

The  dauntless  courage  displayed  by  the  Federal  offi 
cers  and  men  availed  nothing  against  the  rapid  plung 
ing  fire  of  well-served  i2-pound  howitzers,  Napoleons, 
and  rifle  guns.  The  three-inch  rifle  balls  of  the  Federals 
that  fell  near  these  batteries  were  hurled  back  at  them 
out  of  Confederate  guns.  "  On  they  came  in  beautiful 
array,"  wrote  a  Washington  Artillery  participant,  "  more 
determined  to  hold  the  plain  than  ever ;  but  our  fire  was 
murderous,  and  no  troops  on  earth  could  stand  the  feu 
a'enfer  we  were  giving  them.  In  the  foremost  line  we 
distinguished  the  green  flag  with  the  golden  harp  of  old 
Ireland,  and  we  knew  it  to  be  Meagher's  Irish  brigade." 

It  was  a  picturesque  field,  the  blue,  the  red  breeches 
of  the  Zouaves,  and  the  green  of  old  Ireland  were 
mingled  in  Death's  cold  embrace.  Imagine  troops,  as 
soon  as  deployed,  stormed  at  with  shot  and  shell,  and 
those  who  escaped,  treated  next  to  canister,  and  the 
brave  survivors  exposed  to  the  severe  fire  of  con 
cealed  infantry  which  scorched  the  ground  beneath 
their  feet !  The  battle  on  Lee's  left  was  fought  prin 
cipally  by  the  artillery  and  the  few  thousand  infantry  in 
the  sunken  road — troops  whose  courage,  steadiness,  and 
endurance  has  been  honorably  mentioned.  Were  it  pos 
sible  to  have  scaled  Marye's  Hill  no  hostile  force  could 
have  lived  there,  for  a  concentrated,  converging  fire 
from  the  heights  in  the  rear  which  commanded  it,  and 
of  which  it  was  simply  an  outpost,  would  have  swept 
it  from  its  face. 

The  battle  of  Fredericksburg  was  a  grand  sight  as 


SHARPSBURG  AND   FREDERICKSBURG.          231 

Lee  witnessed  it  from  Lee's  Hill  in  the  center  of  his 
lines,  and  Burnside  through  his  field  glass  from  a  more 
secure  position,  two  miles  in  the  rear  of  the  battlefield, 
with  the  river  flowing  between  himself  and  his  troops. 
The  roar  of  over  three  hundred  cannon — the  Federals 
alone  had  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  in  their  army 
— formed  an  orchestra  which  had  the  city  of  Fredericks- 
burg  for  audience,  as  well  as  both  armies. 

Earth  shook,  red  meteors  flashed  along  the  sky, 
And  conscious  Nature  shuddered  at  the  cry. 

A  hundred  thousand  men  in  line  of  battle,  both  flanks 
being  visible,  from  whose  bristling  bayonets  were  re 
flected  the  rays  of  the  morning  sun  as  they  penetrated 
the  rising  mists,  was  a  gorgeous  pageant  viewed  from 
the  Confederate  lines. 

The  battle  of  Fredericksburg  was  a  farce  which  one 
could  laugh  at,  except  for  the  sacrifice  of  human  life. 
A  grand  army  seeks  offensive  battle,  makes  isolated  at 
tacks  by  fractional  forces,  remains  in  position  two  days, 
and  secretly,  in  the  midst  of  a  violent  storm,  recrosses 
the  river  during  the  night,  with  a  loss  of  twelve  thou 
sand  six  hundred  and  fifty-three.  If  Burnside  had  held 
fast  with  a  small  force  in  Fredericksburg,  protected  by 
the  reserve  artillery  on  Stafford  Heights,  while  re-en 
forcing  Franklin  with  the  bulk  of  Sumner's  and  Hook 
er's  forces  so  as  to  have  threatened  the  Confederate 
line  of  communication,  he  would  have  drawn  Lee  from 
Marye's  Hill  and  forced  him  to  deliver  battle  on  more 
equal  terms. 

The  popular  notion  that  General  Jackson  wanted  to 
move  on  the  Federals  after  their  repulse  and  drive  them 
into  the  river  is  disposed  of  by  his  own  report,  in 
which  he  says :  "  The  enemy  making  no  forward  move 
ment,  I  determined,  if  prudent,  to  do  so  myself;  but  the 
first  gun  had  hardly  moved  from  the  woods  a  hundred 
yards  when  the  enemy's  artillery  reopened  and  so  com 
pletely  swept  our  front  as  to  satisfy  me  that  the  pro 
jected  movement  should  be  abandoned." 

Lee  had  really  fought  a  defensive  battle  to  a  finish 

without  knowing  it.     Only  one  third  of  his  army  had 

been  engaged,  and  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing  his 

losses  were  only  five  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy- 

16 


232  GENERAL   LEE. 

seven.  The  Washington  Artillery,  which  for  four  hours 
and  a  half  mowed  down  the  charging  columns  until  their 
canister,  case,  and  solid  shot  had  been  exhausted,  lost 
three  killed  and  twenty-four  wounded.  Naturally  the 
Southern  commander  waited  in  his  advantageous  posi 
tion  for  the  big  battle,  but  he  waited  in  vain.  It  would 
have  been  a  mistake  to  have  done  otherwise;  and  "  in 
war  the  crown  of  laurel  is  reserved  for  him  who  makes 
the  fewest  mistakes  himself  and  most  promptly  profits 
by  the  mistakes  of  others." 

Lee  greatly  regretted  the  loss  of  his  brave  men,  the 
wounding  of  the  gallant  Cook  and  the  death  of  such 
splendid  soldiers  as  Cobb,  and  Maxey  Gregg.  Cobb 
fell  mortally  wounded  at  the  foot  of  the  stone  wall  he 
had  so  bravely  defended,  at  the  door  of  the  house  of 
Mrs.  Martha  Stevens,  who  must  have  been  a  sort  of 
"  Molly  Pitcher,"  for  it  is  related  that  she  was  very  ac 
tive  all  day  in  the  Confederate  cause,  and  after  using 
all  her  materials  for  bandages  for  the  wounded,  ac 
tually  tore  from  her  person  most  of  her  garments,  on 
that  cold  December  morning,  in  her  anxiety  to  minister 
to  their  necessities. 

After  one  or  two  abortive  attempts  to  assume  the 
offensive  were  made  later  by  Burnside,  the  two  armies 
looked  quietly  at  each  other  from  their  respective  posi 
tions  on  either  side  of  the  Rappahannock  for  four 
months.  A  few  wall  and  common  tents,  pitched  half 
way  between  Fredericksburg  and  Hamilton's  Crossing 
on  the  border  of  an  old  pine  field,  marked  the  headquar 
ters  of  the  Confederate  commander,  and  here  Lee  labored 
to  promote  the  efficiency  of  his  troops  and  prepare  them 
for  the  active  operations  which  he  knew  must  commence 
when  spring  succeeded  winter. 

It  was  at  this  time,  Long  tells  us,  that  among  a  num 
ber  of  fowls  presented  to  the  general  was  a  sprightly 
hen,  who  went  into  the  egg  business  before  her  turn 
came  to  lose  her  head,  and  thus  persuaded  Bryan,  Gen 
eral  Lee's  well-known  steward,  that  her  egg,  which  she 
each  morning  deposited  in  the  general's  tent,  was  better 
for  the  general's  breakfast  than  herself.  Lee,  fond  of 
domestic  animals,  appreciated  her  selection  of  his  quar 
ters,  and  would  leave  the  tent  door  open  for  her  and 


SHARPSBURG  AND   FREDERICKSBURG.          233 

wait  elsewhere  until  her  cackle  informed  him  that  he 
could  return  to  his  canvas  home.  She  roosted  and 
rode  in  his  wagon,  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  battle  of 
Chancellorsville,  and  there  it  is  said  she  refused  to  lay 
until  victory  perched  upon  her  general's  plume,  when 
she  at  once  recommenced.  Many  months  she  soldiered 
— participated,  in  her  way,  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  but 
when  the  orders  were  given  to  fall  back,  and  the  head 
quarters  wagons  had  been  loaded,  the  hen  could  not  be 
found.  General  Lee  joined  others  in  a  search  for  her, 
and  finally  she  was  found  perched  on  top  of  the  wagon 
seemingly  anxious  to  return  to  her  native  State. 

In  the  fall  of  1864,  when  Lee's  headquarters  were 
near  Orange  Court  House,  the  hen  had  become  fat  and 
lazy,  and  on  one  occasion  when  the  general  had  a  dis 
tinguished  visitor  to  dine  with  him,  Bryan,  finding  it  diffi 
cult  to  procure  suitable  material,  unknown  to  every  one, 
killed  the  hen.  At  dinner  the  general  was  surprised  to 
see  so  fine  a  fowl,  and  all  enjoyed  it,  not  dreaming  of 
the  great  sacrifice  made  upon  the  altar  of  hospitality. 

Lee's  forced  inactivity  brought  homesickness.  He 
longed  to  be  reunited  to  his  family.  In  his  letters  he 
tells  them  of  the  noble  spirit  displayed  by  the  people  of 
Fredericksburg ;  that  the  faces  of  the  old  and  young 
were  wreathed  with  smiles  and  glowed  with  happiness 
at  their  sacrifices  for  the  good  of  their  country.  "  Many 
have  lost  everything.  What  the  fire  and  swords  of  the 
enemy  spared,  their  pillagers  destroyed ;  but  God  will 
shield  them  I  know."  That  the  only  place  he  "can  be 
found  is  in  camp,  and  there  I  will  have  to  be  taken 
with  the  three  stools,  the  sun,  the  rain  and  mud."  That 
"  Hooker,  Burnside's  successor,  is  obliged  to  do  some 
thing,  but  what,  I  do  not  know."  That  "he  plays 
the  Chinese  game,  runs  out  his  guns,  starts  his  wagons 
and  troops  up  and  down  the  river,  and  creates  an  ex 
citement  generally.  Our  men  look  on  in  wonder,  give 
a  cheer,  and  immediately  again  subside."  That  "  God 
is  kind  and  gives  me  plenty  to  do  in  good  weather  and 
bad,  and  that  I  owe  Mr.  J.  Hooker  no  thanks  for  keep 
ing  me  here,  for  he  ought  to  have  made  up  his  mind 
long  ago  what  to  do."  Later  he  writes :  "  The  cars 
have  arrived  from  Richmond  and  brought  me  a  young 


234  GENERAL   LEE. 

French  officer,  full  of  vivacity  and  ardor,  for  service 
with  me.  I  think  the  appearance  of  things  will  cool 
him.  If  they  do  not  the  night  will,  for  he  brought  no 
blankets." 

In  a  letter  to  his  daughter  Mary,  previous  to  Burn- 
side's  attack,  dated  Camp  near  Fredericksburg,  Novem 
ber  24,  1862,  he  says:  "  I  have  just  received  your  letter 
of  the  iyth,  which  has  afforded  me  great  gratification. 
I  regretted  not  finding  you  in  Richmond,  and  grieve 
over  every  opportunity  at  not  seeing  you  that  is  lost, 
for  I  fear  they  will  become  less  and  less  frequent.  The 
death  of  my  dear  Annie  was,  indeed,  to  me  a  bitter  pang, 
but  *  the  Lord  gave  and  the  Lord  has  taken  away,  blessed 
be  the  name  of  the  Lord.'  In  the  quiet  hours  of  the  night, 
when  there  is  nothing  to  lighten  the  full  weight  of  my 
grief,  I  feel  as  if  I  should  be  overwhelmed.  I  have 
always  counted,  if  God  should  spare  me  a  few  days  of 
peace,  after  this  cruel  war  was  ended,  that  I  should  have 
her  with  me,  but  year  after  year  my  hopes  go  out,  and 
I  must  be  resigned.  General  Burnside's  whole  army  is 
apparently  opposite  Fredericksburg,  and  stretches  from 
the  Rappahannock  to  the  Potomac.  What  his  inten 
tions  are  he  has  not  yet  disclosed.  I  am  sorry  he  is 
in  position  to  oppress  our  friends  and  citizens  of  the 
Northern  Neck.  He  threatens  to  bombard  Fredericks 
burg,  and  the  noble  spirit  displayed  by  its  citizens,  par 
ticularly  the  women  and  children,  has  elicited  my  high 
est  admiration.  They  have  been  abandoning  their  homes 
night  and  day  during  all  this  inclement  weather  cheer 
fully  and  uncomplainingly,  with  only  such  assistance  as 
our  wagons  and  ambulances  could  afford — women,  girls, 
children,  trudging  through  the  mud  and  bivouacking  in 
the  open  fields." 

Again,  in  a  letter  to  his  wife  from  the  same  camp,  on 
December  2,  1862,  he  writes  :  "  I  am  glad  you  had  the  op 
portunity  of  visiting  New  Kent ;  but  the  sight  of  the  White 
House  must  have  brought  particularly  sad  thoughts.  It 
will  all  come  right  in  the  end,  though  we  may  not  live  to 
see  it.  That  is  Lieutenant  Spangler  who  addressed  me  so 
familiarly.  He  was  orderly  sergeant  of  Captain  Evans's 
company,  Second  Cavalry,  United  States  Army,  and  was 
a  good  soldier.  I  tremble  for  my  country  when  I  hear 


SHARPSBURG  AND   FREDERICKSBURG.          235 

of  confidence  expressed  in  me.  I  know  too  well  my 
weakness,  and  that  our  only  hope  is  in  God." 

On  December  nth,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
Federal  operations,  General  Lee  writes  Mrs.  Lee :  "  I 
return  a  bit  sent  up  by  Custis.  It  is  not  the  one  I 
wished,  but  I  do  not  want  the  one  I  wrote  for  now,  as 
I  have  one  that  will  answer  as  well.  The  enemy,  after 
bombarding  the  town  of  Fredericksburg,  setting  fire  to 
many  houses,  and  knocking  down  nearly  all  those  along 
the  river,  crossed  over  a  large  force  about  dark,  and 
now  occupy  the  town.  We  hold  the  hills  commanding 
it,  and  hope  we  shall  be  able  to  damage  him  yet.  His 
positions  and  heavy  guns  command  the  town  entirely." 

On  December  i6th  he  thus  writes  of  the  recrossing 
of  the  Federals,  and  also  of  the  liberation  of  the 
Arlington  slaves:  "  I  had  supposed  they  were  just  pre 
paring  for  battle,  and  was  saving  our  men  for  the  con 
flict.  Their  hosts  crown  the  hill  and  plain  beyond  the 
river,  and  their  numbers  to  me  are  unknown.  Still,  I 
felt  a  confidence  we  could  stand  the  shock,  and  was 
anxious  for  the  blow  that  is  to  fall  on  some  point,  and 
was  prepared. to  meet  it  here.  Yesterday  evening  I  had 
my  suspicions  that  they  might  return  during  the  night, 
but  could  not  believe  they  would  relinquish  their  hopes 
after  all  their  boasting  and  preparation,  and  when  I  say 
that  the  latter  is  equal  to  the  former,  you  will  have 
some  idea  of  the  magnitude.  This  morning  they  were 
all  safe  on  the  north  side  of  the  Rappahannock.  They 
went  as  they  came — in  the  night.  They  suffered  heavily 
as  far  as  the  battle  went,  but  it  did  not  go  far  enough 
to  satisfy  me.  Our  loss  was  comparatively  slight,  and 
I  think  will  not  exceed  two  thousand.  The  contest  will 
have  now  to  be  renewed,  but  on  what  field  I  can  not 
say.  As  regards  the  liberation  of  the  people  [slaves]  I 
wish  to  progress  in  it  as  far  as  I  can.  Those  hired  in 
Richmond  can  still  find  employment  there  if  they  choose. 
Those  in  the  country  can  do  the  same  or  remain  on  the 
farms.  I  hope  they  will  all  do  well  and  behave  them 
selves.  I  should  like  if  I  could  to  attend  to  their  wants, 
and  see  them  placed  to  the  best  advantage.  But  that  is 
impossible.  All  that  choose  can  leave  the  State  before 
the  war  closes.  The  quartermaster  informs  me  he  has 


236  GENERAL   LEE. 

received  the  things  you  sent.  The  mitts  will  be  very 
serviceable.  Make  as  many  as  you  can  obtain  good 
material  for.  I  have  everything  I  want."  General 
Lee  was  the  executor,  and  the  date  of  the  emancipation 
of  the  slaves  under  Mr.  Custis's  will  had  arrived. 

From  the  same  camp  on  Christmas  day  he  writes  Mrs. 
Lee  :  "  I  will  commence  this  holy  day  by  writing  to  you. 
My  heart  is  filled  with  gratitude  to  Almighty  God  for 
the  unspeakable  mercies  with  which  he  has  blessed  us  in 
this  day,  for  those  he  has  granted  us  from  the  beginning 
of  life,  and  particularly  for  those  he  has  vouchsafed  us 
during  the  past  year.  What  should  have  become  of  us 
without  his  crowning  help  and  protection  ?  Oh,  if  our 
people  would  only  recognize  it  and  cease  from  vain  self- 
boasting  and  adulation,  how  strong  would  be  my  belief  in 
final  success  and  happiness  to  our  country  !  But  what  a 
cruel  thing  is  war;  to  separate  and  destroy  families  and 
friends,  and  mar  the  purest  joys  and  happiness  God  has 
granted  us  in  this  world;  to  fill  our  hearts  with  hatred 
instead  of  love  for  our  neighbors,  and  to  devastate  the 
fair  face  of  this  beautiful  world !  I  pray  that  on  this 
day,  when  only  peace  and  good-will  are  preached  to  man 
kind,  better  thoughts  may  fill  the  hearts  of  our  enemies 
and  turn  them  to  peace.  Our  army  was  never  in  such 
good  health  and  condition  since  I  have  been  attached  to 
it.  I  believe  they  share  with  me  my  disappointment  that 
the  enemy  did  not  renew  the  combat  on  the  i3th.  I  was 
holding  back  all  that  day  and  husbanding  our  strength 
and  ammunition  for  the  great  struggle  for  which  I 
thought  I  was  preparing.  Had  I  divined  what  was  to 
have  been  his  only  effort  he  would  have  had  more  of  it. 
My  heart  bleeds  at  the  death  of  every  one  of  our  gallant 
men."  Again,  from  the  same  place  he  tells  her  :  "  We  had 
quite  a  snow  day  before  yesterday,  and  last  night  was 
very  cold.  It  is  thawing  a  little  this  morning,  though 
the  water  was  freezing  as  I  washed.  I  fear  it  will  bring 
much  discomfort  to  those  of  our  men  who  are  barefooted 
and  poorly  clad.  I  can  take  but  little  pleasure  in  my 
comforts  for  thinking  of  them.  A  kind  lady — Mrs.  Sallie 
Braxton  Slaughter — of  Fredericksburg,  sent  me  a  mat 
tress,  some  catsup,  and  preserves  during  the  snowstorm. 
You  must  thank  Miss  Norvell  [Caskie]  for  her  nice  cake, 


SHARPSBURG  AND   FREDERICKSBURG.          237 

which  I  enjoyed  very  much.  I  had  it  set  out  under  the 
pines  the  day  after  its  arrival,  and  assembled  all  the 
young  gentlemen  [of  his  staff]  around  it ;  and  though  I 
told  them  it  was  a  present  from  a  beautiful  young  lady, 
they  did  not  leave  a  crumb.  I  want  a  good  servant 
badly.  Perry  [an  old  Arlington  servant]  is  very  willing, 
and  I  believe  does  as  well  as  he  can.  You  know  he  is 
very  slow  and  inefficient,  and  moves  very  like  his  father 
Lawrence.  He  is  also  very  fond  of  his  blankets  in  the 
morning — the  time  I  most  require  him.  I  hope  he  will 
do  well  when  he  leaves  me,  and  get  in  the  service  of 
some  good  person  who  will  take  care  of  him." 

On  the  8th  of  January  he  again  makes  reference  to 
the  Arlington  servants,  and  says:  "I  executed  the  deed 
of  manumission  sent  me  by  Mr.  Caskie,  and  returned  it 
to  him.  I  perceived  that  John  Sawyer  and  James's 
names  among  the  Arlington  people  had  been  omitted, 
and  inserted  them.  I  fear  there  are  others  among  the 
White  House  lot  which  I  did  not  discover.  As  to  the 
attacks  of  the  Northern  papers,  I  do  not  mind  them, 
and  do  not  think  it  wise  to  make  the  publication  you 
suggest.  If  all  the  names  of  the  people  at  Arlington 
and  on  the  Pamunkey  are  not  embraced  in  the  deed  I 
have  executed,  I  should  like  a  supplementary  deed  to  be 
drawn  up  containing  all  those  omitted.  They  are  all 
entitled  to  their  freedom,  and  I  wish  to  give  it  to  them. 
Those  that  have  been  carried  away  I  hope  are  free  and 
happy.  I  can  not  get  their  papers  to  them,  and  they  do 
not  require  them.  I  will  give  them  if  they  ever  call  for 
them.  It  would  be  useless  to  ask  their  restitution  to 
manumit  them.  The  enemy  is  still  in  large  force  opposite 
to  us.  There  is  no  indication  of  his  future  movements." 
And  on  the  29th  of  January  he  writes:  "The  storm 
has  culminated  here  in  a  deep  snow,  which  does  not  im 
prove  our  comfort.  It  came  particularly  hard  on  some 
of  our  troops  whom  I  was  obliged  to  send  some  eleven 
miles  up  the  Rappahannock  to  meet  a  recent  move  of 
General  Burnside.  Their  bivouac  in  the  rain  and  snow 
was  less  comfortable  than  at  their  former  stations,  where 
they  had  constructed  some  shelter.  General  Burnside's 
designs  have  apparently  been  frustrated,  either  by  the 
storm  or  by  other  causes,  and  on  last  Saturday  he  took 


GENERAL   LEE. 

a  special  steamer  to  Washington,  to  consult  the  military 
oracles  at  the  Federal  seat  of  Government.  Sunday  I 
heard  of  his  being  closeted  with  President  Lincoln,  Sec 
retary  Stanton,  and  General  Halleck.  I  suppose  we 
shall  have  a  new  programme  next  week.  You  had  bet 
ter  finish  all  the  gloves  you  intend  making  at  once,  and 
send  them  to  the  army.  Next  month  they  will  be  much 
needed.  After  that  no  use  for  this  winter.  Tell  Mr. 
Haskins  I  am  delighted  the  turkey  was  so  good.  I  was 
that  day  up  at  United  States  Mine  Ford,  on  the  Rappa- 
hannock.  Did  not  get  back  till  late  at  night.  After 
our  nocturnal  repast  was  over,  having  been  on  horse 
back  from  early  breakfast,  you  can  imagine  how  I  would 
have  enjoyed  it.  I  was,  however,  thinking  so  much  of 
General  Burnside's  playing  us  such  a  shabby  trick,  run 
ning  off  to  Washington  when  we  were  waiting  for  him, 
that  I  did  not  then  miss  my  dinner." 

General  Lee  was  surrounded  by  embarrassments 
during  the  winter — the  troops  were  scantily  clothed,  ra 
tions  for  men  and  animals  meager.  The  shelters  were 
poor,  and  through  them  broke  the  sun,  rains,  and  winds. 
He  could  not  strike  his  enemy,  but  must  watch  and  be 
patient,  for  he  remembered  the  favorite  maxim  of  Marl- 
borough,  "  Patience  will  overcome  all  things,  and  the 
gods  smile  on  those  who  can  wait."  He  was  obliged  to 
send  Longstreet  with  two  of  his  four  divisions  to  the 
section  south  of  James  River,  nearly  one  hundred  miles 
away,  to  relieve  his  commissary  department  and  to  col 
lect  supplies,  and  was  thus  deprived  of  their  support 
when  the  campaign  opened.  Across  the  river  his  bet 
ter  sheltered,  fed,  and  clothed  opponent  had  his  trou 
bles  too.  Burnside  had  lost  the  confidence  of  many  of 
his  principal  officers,  and  after  a  harmless  attempt  to 
reach  Lee  by  Banks's  Ford,  six  miles  above  Fredericks- 
burg,  further  winter  operations  were  suspended. 

Then  Burnside  prepared  a  sweeping  order,  dismiss 
ing  from  the  army  Generals  Hooker,  Brooks,  Cochrane, 
and  Newton,  and  relieving  from  their  commands  Gen 
erals  Franklin,  W.  F.  Smith,  Sturgis,  Ferrero,  and  Colo 
nel  Joseph  Taylor,  Sumner's  adjutant  general.  To  ap 
prove  the  order,  or  accept  his  resignation,  was  the 
alternative  presented  to  the  President.  Mr.  Lincoln 


SHARPSBURG  AND  FREDERICKSBURG. 


239 


accepted  his  resignation,  and  immediately  placed  the 
baton  of  the  army  commander  in  the  hands  of  Joseph 
Hooker,  the  head  and  front  of  the  caballed  officers. 
Mr.  Lincoln's  letter  of  January  26,  1863,  to  Hooker,  is 
characteristic.  He  tells  him  he  has  thwarted  Burnside 
as  much  as  he  could,  doing  a  great  wrong  to  his  country 
and  to  a  most  meritorious  brother  officer ;  that  he  had 
heard  of  his  saying  that  both  the  army  and  country 
needed  a  dictator.  "  What  I  ask,"  he  adds,  "  is  military 
success.  In  that  event  I  will  risk  the  dictatorship  "  ;  and 
concludes  by  begging  him  to  "  Beware  of  rashness !  " 

Hooker,  or  "  Fighting  Joe,"  as  he  was  sometimes 
called,  had  managed  a  corps  well,  possessed  personal 
magnetism  and  a  fine  presence,  but  had  not  the  ability 
to  conduct  great  operations ;  and  yet  it  must  be  admitted 
his  preliminary  steps  toward  reorganization  and  the  pro 
motion  of  the  battle  power  of  his  army  were  well  taken. 
He  found  his  army  amid  the  Stafford  hills,  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Rappahannock,  and  stretching  back  to  the 
Potomac  some  twelve  miles,  which  river  gave  him  a 
splendid  line  of  communication  with  his  capital,  secure 
from  an  enemy  who  had  no  boats.  Much  discontent 
prevailed  in  the  ranks,  and  his  men  were  deserting  at 
the  rate  of  two  hundred  per  day.  A  majority  of  the 
officers,  too,  were  hostile  to  the  policy  of  the  Govern 
ment,  and  the  number  of  absentees  without  leave 
amounted  to  2,922  officers  and  81,964  non-commissioned 
officers  and  privates,  while  the  express  trains  to  the  army 
were  filled  with  citizens'  clothing,  sent  to  assist  soldiers  to 
desert.  Hooker,  by  judicious  furloughs,  stopped  this  in 
a  measure,  filled  up  his  ranks,  instilled  discipline,  gave 
leaves  to  the  officers,  consolidated  his  cavalry  into  a 
corps,  and  replaced  the  Corps  d'arme"e  or  Grand  Divi 
sions  by  an  army  organization  of  seven  corps,  command 
ed  by,  First,  Reynolds  ;  Second,  Couch  ;  Third,  Sickles  ; 
Fifth,  Meade ;  Sixth,  Sedgwick ;  Eleventh,  Howard ; 
and  Twelfth,  Slocum.  Then  he  began  to  study  strategy, 
for  Mr.  Lincoln  had  said,  "  Go  forward  and  give  us  victo 
ries."  Lee's  army,  his  objective  point,  must  be  reached — 
but  how  ?  The  more  the  problem  was  considered  the 
more  he  was  convinced  its  solution  involved  reaching 
General  Lee's  left  rear. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

CHANCELLORSVILLE. 

CHANCELLORSVILLE  was  the  most  wonderful  of  Lee's 
battles,  and  demanded  the  highest  exercise  of  his  mili 
tary  ability.  The  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  amounted 
to  53,303  present  for  duty  at  Chancellorsville,  with  one 
hundred  and  seventy  pieces  of  artillery.* 

The  Federals  numbered,  according  to  the  return  of 
April  3oth,  an  aggregate  of  officers  and  men  present  of 
138,378,  and,  under  the  head  of  "present  for  duty 
equipped,"  which  embraces  those  actually  available  for 
the  line  of  battle  at  the  date  of  the  report,  the  army 
numbered  133,708.  Hooker  had  by  these  returns,  there 
fore,  a  numerical  superiority  on  the  field  of  80,000. 

The  Southern  commander,  penetrating  the  Federal 
plan  of  operations,  placed  one  of  the  only  two  cavalry 
brigades  with  his  army  in  the  vicinity  of  Culpeper  Court 
House,  and  had  the  Rappahannock  picketed  for  twenty- 
five  miles  above  the  left  of  his  infantry.  Hooker  deter 
mined  to  break  up  this  observation  cavalry,  for  they 
would  be  too  near  his  flanking  route,  and  on  the  i6th 
dispatched  three  thousand  cavalry  under  Averell  to 
attack  them.  The  Southern  brigade  was  small  at  the 
time.  The  cavalrymen  owned  their  horses,  and  many 
of  them  had  been  detailed  to  go  home  to  get  fresh 
horses  for  the  spring  campaign.  Owing  to  that  fact, 
and  the  absence  of  many  squadrons  on  detached  service, 
only  eight  hundred  men  could  be  placed  in  the  saddle. 
Butterfield,  Hooker's  chief  of  staff,  reported  the  combat 

*  The  returns  make  the  numbers  57,112.  This  included  Hamp 
ton's  and  Jones's  cavalry  brigades,  which,  though  included  in  the  re 
turns,  were  absent,  making  the  cavalry  at  Chancellorsville  2,700  in 
stead  of  6,500,  as  in  the  returns. 

(240.) 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  241 

that  followed  as  the  best  cavalry  fight  of  the  war,  last 
ing  five  hours,  charging  and  recharging  on  both  sides, 
and  that  the  Confederate  cavalry  were  driven  back 
three  miles  into  cover  of  earthworks  and  heavy  guns. 
Stanton,  the  Federal  Secretary  of  War,  congratulated 
Hooker  on  the  success  of  the  expedition.  "  You  have 
drawn  the  first  blood,  and  I  hope  now  to  see  the  boys 
up  and  at  them."  It  was  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  who  said 
that  human  testimony  was  so  unreliable  that  no  two 
men  could  see  the  same  occurrence  and  give  the  same 
report  of  it.  The  Confederate  official  reports  state  that 
Averell  was  defeated  and  driven  back  across  the  river. 
Major  John  Pelham,  who  was  accidentally  present,  being 
summoned  to  Culpeper  Court  House  as  a  witness  in  a 
court-martial,  borrowed  a  horse  and  rode  out  on  the 
field,  where  he  acted  temporarily  as  aid-de-camp,  and 
was  killed.  He  was  Stuart's  chief  of  horse  artillery, 
and  a  graduate  of  West  Point  of  the  class  of  1861.  The 
death  of  this  blue-eyed  Alabama  boy  was  a  great  loss. 
His  superb  courage  and  dash  had  been  immortalized  by 
Jackson's  expression,  after  seeing  him  handle  his  guns 
at  Sharpsburg,  that  "an  army  should  have  a  Pelham  on 
each  flank,"  while  General  Lee  called  him,  at  Fredericks- 
burg,  "the  gallant  Pelham";  and  Stuart  in  General  Or 
ders  wrote :  "  The  memory  of  the  gallant  Pelham,  his 
many  virtues,  his  noble  nature,  his  purity  of  character, 
is  enshrined  as  a  sacred  legacy  in  the  hearts  of  all  who 
knew  him." 

On  the  arrival  of  spring  the  two  armies  were  still  in 
sight  of  each  other  occupying  the  old  lines.  Hooker 
must  now  assume  the  offensive.  In  addition  to  his 
twelve  corps  of  infantry — three  divisions  to  a  corps,  ex 
cept  Slocum's,  who  had  two — he  had  a  large,  finely  ap 
pointed  cavalry  corps  under  Stoneman,  numbering  thir 
teen  thousand  three  hundred  and  ninety-eight  sabers, 
and  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  cannon.  The  Con 
federate  force  consisted  of  McLaws  and  Anderson's  di 
visions  of  Longstreet's  corps  (Hood  and  Pickett's  divi 
sions  of  that  corps  being  absent  in  the  vicinity  of 
Suffolk,  south  of  James  River),  and  Jackson's  corps, 
composed  of  the  divisions  of  A.  P.  Hill,  Early,  and  D.  H. 
Hill  under  Rodes,  and  Trimble  under  Colston. 


242  GENERAL   LEE. 

The  Federal  general's  designs  were  well  conceived. 
He  proposed  to  march  three  of  his  corps  up  the  Rappa- 
hannock  twenty-seven  miles,  cross  them  at  Kelly's  Ford, 
add  to  them  one  corps  which  should  cross  below  at 
United  States  Ford,  and  with  these  four  corps  make  a 
great  turning  column,  which  should  move  down  on  Lee's 
left  rear,  while  the  remaining  three  corps,  constituting  his 
left  wing,  should  cross  a  la  Burnside  in  Lee's  front  at 
Fredericksburg,  hold  him  steady  by  the  menace  of  a  di 
rect  attack,  and  when  he  was  manoeuvred  out  of  his  in- 
trenchments,  pursue  him.  In  order  to  make  the  blow 
more  effective,  Stoneman  was  directed  to  make  a  wide 
detour  well  around  the  Southern  left  and  rear,  throw 
ten  thousand  sabers  between  Lee  and  Richmond,  break 
ing  up  his  communications,  stopping  his  supplies,  and 
be  in  a  position  to  obstruct  the  Confederate  retreat 
until  Hooker  could  deliver  a  final  blow. 

The  Union  cavalry  were  put  in  motion  as  early  as 
the  i3th  of  April  to  cross  the  upper  fords  of  the  Rappa- 
hannock.  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  was  alive  to  all  that  was 
going  on,  telegraphed  Hooker :  "  The  rain  and  mud  were, 
of  course,  to  be  calculated  upon.  General  Stoneman  is 
not  moving  rapidly  enough  to  make  the  expedition  come 
to  anything.  He  has  now  been  out  three  days,  two  of 
which  were  unusually  fair  weather,  and  all  free  from 
hindrance  by  his  enemy,  and  yet  he  is  not  twenty-five 
miles  from  where  he  started.  To  reach  his  point  he  has 
still  sixty  to  go.  By  arithmetic  how  many  days  will 
it  take  him  to  do  it?"  The  general  impatience  for  a 
move  was  prevalent  everywhere.  Even  the  Union  Gen 
eral  Peck,  at  Suffolk,  hoping  to  be  relieved  from  Long- 
street's  presence,  wired  urging  it,  to  which  Hooker  re 
plied  on  April  2ist:  "You  must  be  patient  with  me.  I 
must  play  with  these  devils  before  I  can  spring." 

On  the  27th  Hooker's  turning  column  of  the  Eleventh, 
Twelfth,  and  Fifth  Corps  began  its  march,  while  two  di 
visions  of  Couch's  Second  Corps  were  sent  to  United 
States  Ford,  between  Kelly's  and  Fredericksburg.  On 
the  night  of  the  28th  and  the  morning  of  the  2pth  the 
right  wing  crossed  the  Rappahannock  River,  marched 
under  Hooker's  immediate  command  in  two  columns 
for  the  Rapidan,  crossing  that  stream  at  Germania  and 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  243 

Ely's  Fords.  Having  brought  Couch  to  him,  Hooker 
was  concentrated  on  the  night  of  the  3oth  at  Chancel- 
lorsville,  ten  miles  west  of  Fredericksburg,  but  had  con 
sumed  four  days  in  getting  this  far  on  Lee's  left. 

The  day  before  Hooker  moved,  Sedgwick,  proceed 
ing  to  carry  out  his  part  of  the  plan,  crossed  the  Rappa- 
hannock  below  Fredericksburg  with  the  First,  Third,  and 
Sixth  Corps,  numbering  fifty-two  thousand  four  hundred 
and  one.  This  imposing  demonstration  on  Lee's  front, 
it  was  expected,  would  make  him  arrange  for  another 
defensive  battle,  and  while  doing  so,  Hooker's  right  wing 
would  overwhelm  his  left  and  attack  in  reverse  his  forti 
fied  lines.  The  next  day  Sickles's  Third  Corps,  having 
assisted  Sedgwick  to  demonstrate,  went  to  Hooker  at 
Chancellorsville  to  join  in  the  contemplated  crushing; 
but  Sedgwick  still  had  for  his  feint  thirty-seven  thou 
sand  six  hundred  and  seventy-three  troops. 

Hooker  was  greatly  elated  at  the  situation  on  the 
night  of  the  3oth.  The  next  day  he  would  advance  with 
"  the  finest  army  on  the  planet,"  as  he  called  it,  uncover 
Banks's  Ford  six  miles  below,  and  thus  have  direct  com 
munication  by  a  short  route  with  Sedgwick.  He  con 
gratulated  in  General  Orders  the  right  wing  at  the  great 
success  attending  their  operations,  telling  them  that  his 
enemy  "  must  ingloriously  fly,  or  come  out  from  behind 
his  defenses  and  give  us  battle  on  our  own  ground, 
whe're  certain  destruction  awaits  him."  On  May  ist 
Hooker  started  for  Fredericksburg.  The  four  corps  with 
him,  less  Gibbon's  division  of  the  Second  at  Falmouth, 
and  exclusive  of  a  cavalry  brigade,  amounted  to  seven 
ty-three  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty-four.  What 
a  grand  army  to  hurl  on  an  enemy's  flank ! 

If  the  Union  general's  tactics  had  kept  pace  with  his 
strategy,  his  numbers  might  have  given  him  a  great 
victory.  His  well-devised  plans  were  divined  by  his 
alert  antagonist.  Stuart's  cavalry  pickets,  which  were 
driven  away  from  Kelly's  Ford  on  the  28th,  reported 
infantry  crossing  there  that  night ;  their  line  of  march 
was  quickly  ascertained  next  day  and  reported  to  Gen 
eral  Lee  by  telegraph  from  Culpeper  Court  House. 
Stuart  made  a  detour  with  one  of  his  two  brigades  of 
cavalry,  after  throwing  a  regiment  in  front  of  the  Fed- 


244  GENERAL   LEE. 

eral  advance,  and  reaching  Todd's  Tavern  on  the  3oth, 
placed  his  cavalry  across  the  routes  leading  to  Lee's 
lines  of  communication.  Jackson,  whose  right  stretched 
fourteen  miles  below  Fredericksburg,  was  brought  up  to 
Hamilton's  Crossing  the  same  day  Hooker's  right  wing 
was  crossing  the  river  at  Kelly's,  and  then  Lee  waited 
for  his  enemy's  plans  to  be  more  fully  developed,  believ 
ing  the  war  maxim,  "  When  your  enemy  is  making  a  mis 
take  he  must  not  be  interrupted."  He  readily  perceived 
that  with  Hooker  at  Chancellorsville  and  Sedgwick 
three  miles  below  Fredericksburg,  the  two  wings  were 
thirteen  miles  apart,  and  that  his  army  was  directly  be 
tween  them.  He  understood  the  military  problem — 
drive  the  wedge  in  and  keep  them  separate,  hold  one 
still  by  a  feint  or  retard  his  march  by  fighting,  concen 
trate  on  and  overwhelm  the  other.  Sedgwick  lay  quiet 
while  Hooker  was  massing  at  Chancellorsville. 

"  Jackson  at  first,"  says  Lee,  "  preferred  to  attack 
Sedgwick's  force  in  the  plain  of  Fredericksburg,  but  I 
told  him  I  feared  it  was  as  impracticable  as  it  was  at 
the  first  battle  of  Fredericksburg.  It  was  hard  to  get 
at  the  enemy,  and  harder  to  get  away,  if  we  drove  him 
into  the  river,  but  if  he  thought  it  could  be  done,  I  would 
give  orders  for  it."  Jackson  asked  to  be  allowed  to  ex 
amine  the  ground,  and  did  so  during  the  afternoon,  and 
at  night  came  to  Lee  and  said  he  thought  he  [Lee]  was 
right.  It  would  be  inexpedient  to  attack  there.  "  Move, 
then,"  said  Lee,  "  up  to  Anderson,"  who  had  been  previ 
ously  ordered  to  proceed  to  Chancellorsville.  "  And  the 
next  time  I  saw  Jackson,"  says  General  Lee,  "was  the 
next  day — May  ist — when  he  was  on  our  skirmish  line, 
driving  in  the  enemy's  skirmishers  around  Chancellors 
ville." 

McLaws  reached  Anderson's  position  before  sun 
rise  on  the  ist,  and  Jackson  at  8  A.  M.  It  was  deter 
mined  to  hammer  Hooker  while  Sedgwick  was  held  at 
arm's  length.  Lee  wisely  selected  Early  to  keep,  if 
possible,  Sedgwick  out  of  the  difficulty  he  proposed  to 
have  with  Hooker,  and,  in  addition  to  his  own  division, 
gave  him  Barksdale's  brigade  of  McLaws's  division  and 
the  reserve  artillery  under  General  Pendleton.  Jackson 
found  Anderson  some  six  miles  from  Chancellorsville, 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  245 

intrenching.  He  ordered  the  work  discontinued,  for,  as 
usual,  he  wanted  at  once  to  find  his  enemy.  At  n  A.  M. 
the  Confederates,  in  two  columns  under  Anderson  and 
McLaws,  with  Jackson  closely  following,  moved  on 
Chancellorsville. 

The  same  morning  Hooker  put  his  troops  in  motion 
in  three  columns  on  the  roads  Lee  was  marching,  think 
ing  the  latter  was  held  at  Fredericksburg  by  his  demon 
stration  there,  and  ordered  his  headquarters  to  be  es 
tablished  at  Tabernacle  Church,  half-way  between  Chan 
cellorsville  and  Fredericksburg,  at  2  p.  M.  ;  but  the 
church  was  not  destined  to  be  so  marked.  As  the  head 
of  his  columns  debouched  from  the  forest  a  few  miles 
from  Chancellorsville,  they  encountered  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia  advancing  in  line  of  battle,  which  so 
surprised  Hooker  that  he  lost  for  the  first  time  his  self- 
confidence.  He  had  not  dreamed  that  Lee  would 
assume  the  offensive.  It  embarrassed  him  so  much 
that  he  decided  on  defensive  tactics — a  decision  fatal 
to  him.  Fearing  he  could  not  throw  his  troops  through 
the  forest  fast  enough,  and  apprehensive  of  being  whipped 
in  detail,  ho  ordered  his  army  to  retire  to  their  lines 
around  Chancellorsville.  Lee,  with  brilliant  daring 
worthy  of  the  hero  of  Malakoff,  followed  him  and  estab 
lished  a  line  of  battle  in  front  of  him,  at  some  points 
within  a  mile  of  Chancellorsville.  "  Here,"  says  he,  "  the 
enemy  had  assumed  a  position  of  great  natural  strength, 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  a  dense  forest  filled  with 
tangled  undergrowth,  in  the  midst  of  which  breastworks 
of  logs  had  been  constructed  with  trees  felled  in  front  so 
as  to  form  an  almost  impenetrable  abatis.  His  artillery 
swept  the  few  narrow  roads  by  which  his  position  could 
be  approached  from  the  front,  and  commanded  the  ad 
jacent  works."  The  left  of  Hooker's  line  extended  from 
Chancellorsville  to  the  Rappahannock  River,  covering 
the  United  States  Ford,  while  on  the  other  side  it 
reached  west  as  far  as  Wilderness  Church.  His  left  flank 
was  unassailable,  as  Lee  found  from  a  personal  recon- 
noissance  that  afternoon,  and  his  front  impregnable.  Of 
the  five  miles  of  battle  line,  his  right  alone  could  be  con 
sidered.  That  night  Stuart  brought  the  Rev.  Dr.  B.  T. 
Lacy  to  Lee,  who  told  him  a  circuit  could  be  made 
17 


246  GENERAL   LEE. 

around  by  Wilderness  Tavern,  and  General  Lee  directed 
Jackson  to  make  his  arrangements  to  move  early  next 
day  around  the  Federal  right  flank. 

The  sun  rose  on  this  eventful  2d  of  May  unclouded 
and  brilliant,  gilding  the  hill  tops  and  penetrating  the 
vapors  of  the  valley — as  gorgeous  as  was  the  sun  of 
Austerlitz,  which  produced  such  an  impression  upon  the 
imagination  of  Napoleon.  Its  rays  fell  upon  the  last 
meeting  in  this  world  of  Lee  and  Jackson.  The  Duke 
of  Wellington  is  reported  to  have  said :  "  A  man  of  fine 
Christian  sensibilities  is  totally  unfit  for  the  position  of 
a  soldier  " ;  but  here  were  two  great  soldiers  who  faith 
fully  performed  all  their  duties  as  Christians. 

Lee,  erect  and  soldierly,  emerged  from  the  little  pine 
thicket  where  he  had  bivouacked  during  the  night,  and 
stood  on  its  edge  at  sunrise  to  see  Jackson's  troops  file 
by.  When  Jackson  came  along  he  stopped  and  the  two 
conversed  for  a  few  moments,  after  which  Jackson 
speedily  rejoined  his  troops,  now  making  their  famous 
flank  march.  Bold,  but  dangerous,  was  Lee's  strategy. 
He  had  decided  to  keep  some  14,000  men,  under  Ander 
son  and  McLaws,  in  front  of  Hooker's  73,000,  while 
Jackson  marched  by  a  wide  circuit  with  less  than  30,000, 
to  gain  the  Union  right  rear.  Reynolds's  First  Corps 
on  that  day  was  marching  from  Sedgwick  to  Hooker. 
It  numbered  19,595,  an(*  reached  Hooker  at  daylight  on 
the  3d.  General  Hooker  then  had  around  Chancellors- 
ville  92,719  men. 

At  Austerlitz,  when  the  Russians  made  the  flank 
movement  around  the  French  right,  Napoleon  moved  at 
once  upon  the  weakened  line  of  the  allies  in  his  front 
and  burst  through  it.  Leaving  some  battalions  to  hold 
the  right  wing,  he  wheeled  the  remainder  upon  the  left 
and  destroyed  it,  and  then,  turning  toward  the  right 
wing,  he  directed  upon  it  a  terrible  onset,  and  it  too 
was  no  more.  In  some  places  the  men  in  Lee's  thin 
gray  line  in  front  of  Hooker  were  six  feet  apart.  Jack 
son  marched  rapidly  diagonally  across  the  front  of 
Hooker's  line  of  battle,  screened  from  view  by  the  for 
est  and  by  three  regiments  of  cavalry  which  had  been 
ordered  to  mask  the  movement  as  well  as  to  precede  it. 

As  early  as  8  A.  M.  Birney,  of  Sickles's  corps,  reported  a 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  247 

continuous  column  of  infantry  trains  and  ambulances  pass 
ing  his  front.  His  division  was  on  Howard's  left,  whose 
corps  formed  the  right  of  the  Union  army.  Sickles  sent 
a  battery  forward  to  a  commanding  position  on  his  front 
and  fired  at  the  moving  column,  and  at  12  M.  moved  with 
two  of  his  divisions  and  Barlow's  brigade  of  Howard's 
corps  and  gained  the  road  Jackson  was  moving  on, 
capturing  a  few  hundred  of  his  men.  Howard  did  not 
fear  an  attack  on  his  right,  for  his  brigade,  in  reserve  at 
that  point,  was  selected  to  assist  in  Sickles's  pursuit. 

At  9.30  A.  M.  Hooker  notified  Slocum  and  Howard 
that  the  right  of  their  line  did  not  appear  to  be  strong 
enough.  "  We  have  good  reason  to  suppose  the  enemy 
is  moving  to  our  right."  Howard  does  not  admit  that  he 
ever  received  the  notification — Slocum  says  he  read  it; 
but  at  10.50  A.  M.  Hooker  received  a  dispatch  from  How 
ard  that  a  column  of  infantry  had  been  observed  moving 
west,  and  that  he  had  taken  measures  to  resist  an  attack 
from  the  west.  Later  he  became  convinced  it  was  a  re 
treat,  not  an  attack.  At  2  p.  M.  Couch,  next  in  com 
mand,  was  told  by  Hooker  that  Lee  was  in  full  retreat 
toward  Gordonsville,  and  that  he  had  sent  out  Sickles 
to  capture  his  artillery ;  and  at  4.10  p.  M.,  the  hour  Jack 
son  was  forming  his  column  of  attack  behind  his  right, 
Hooker  sent  a  dispatch  to  Sedgwick :  "  We  know  the 
enemy  is  flying,  trying  to  save  his  trains.  Two  of 
Sickles's  divisions  are  among  them." 

About  3  P.  M.  Jackson's  van  reached  the  plank  road, 
three  miles  west  of  Chancellorsville.  The  commander 
of  the  cavalry  accompanying  him  had  made  a  personal 
reconnoissance  while  waiting  for  Jackson  to  come  up, 
and  had  located  the  exact  position  of  the  Union  right. 
When  Jackson  arrived,  at  his  request,  he  accompanied 
him  through  a  concealed  wooded  road  to  a  hill  over 
looking  the  rear  of  the  Federal  right.  Below  and  but 
a  few  hundred  yards'  distant  ran  their  line  of  battle, 
with  abatis  in  front  and  long  lines  of  stacked  arms  in 
the  rear.  Cannon  in  position  were  visible,  and  the  sol 
diers  were  in  groups,  chatting,  smoking,  and  playing 
cards,  while  others  in  the  rear  were  driving  up  and  butch 
ering  beeves.  Stonewall's  face  bore  an  expression  of  in 
tense  interest  during  the  five  minutes  he  was  on  the  hill, 
17 


248  GENERAL   LEE. 

and  the  Federal  position  was  pointed  out  to  him.  His  eyes 
had  a  brilliant  glow.  The  paint  of  approaching  battle  was 
coloring  his  cheeks,  and  he  was  radiant  to  find  no  prepa 
ration  had  been  made  to  guard  against  a  flank  attack. 
He  made  no  remarks  to  the  officer  with  him ;  his  lips 
were,  however,  moving, lor,  sitting  on  his  horse  in  sight  of 
and  close  to  Howard's  troops,  he  was  engaged  in  an  ap 
peal  to  the  God  of  Battles.  He  quickly  perceived  what 
had  been  suggested — that  by  moving  to  the  old  turnpike, 
a  little  farther  to  the  rear,  and  not  turning  down  the 
plank  road  as  proposed,  he  would  take  Howard's  line  in 
reverse  and  not  in  front.  "Tell  General  Rodes,"  said 
he,  suddenly  wheeling  his  horse  to  a  courier,  "  to  move 
across  the  plank  road  and  halt  when  he  gets  to  the  old 
turnpike.  I  will  join  him  there."  And  then  he  rode 
rapidly  back. 

The  cavalry,  supported  by  Paxton's  brigade  of  infan 
try,  was  placed  a  short  distance  down  the  plank  road 
to  mask  the  march  of  the  remaining  troops  across  it. 
Jackson's  troops  reached  the  old  turnpike  at  4  p.  M. 
Two  hours  were  consumed  in  getting  the  command  up 
and  organizing  for  the  attack.  At  this  point  Jackson 
wrote  his  last  note  to  General  Lee  : 

Near  3  P.  M.,  May  2,  1863. 

GENERAL  :  The  enemy  has  made  a  stand  at  Chancellors,* 
which  is  about  two  miles  from  Chancellorsville.  I  hope  as  soon 
as  practicable  to  attack.  I  trust  that  an  ever-kind  Providence 
will  bless  us  with  great  success.  Respectfully, 

T.  J.  JACKSON,  Lieutenant  General. 

The  leading  division  is  up,  and  the  next  two  appear  to  be  well 
closed.  T.  J.  J. 

General  R.  E.  LEE. 

As  the  different  divisions  arrived  they  were  formed  at 
right  angles  to  the  road,  Rodes's  in  front,  Trimble's  divi 
sion,  under  Colston,  in  the  second  line  two  hundred  yards 
in  the  rear,  and  A.  P.  Hill's  in  supporting  distance  in  col 
umn.  At  6  P.  M.,  all  being  ready,  Jackson  ordered  the 
advance.  His  men  burst  with  a  cheer  upon  the  startled 
enemy,  and,  like  a  disciplined  thunderbolt,  swept  down 
the  line  and  captured  cannon  before  they  could  be  re- 

*  Also  known  as  Dowdall's  Tavern. 


CHANCELLORSVILLE. 


249 


versed  to  fire  on  them.  Howard  had  two  regiments  and 
two  guns,  under  Von  Gilsen,  at  right  angles  to  his  main 
line.  The  Confederate  rush  first  struck  him,  and  he 
called  for  re-enforcements.  Howard  told  him  he  must 
"hold  his  post  with  the  men  he  had  and  trust  to  God ! " 
His  command  of  fourteen  hundred  did  not  hold  on  long, 
as  they  only  lost  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  killed, 
wounded,  and  missing.  Rabbits  and  squirrels  ran  and 
flocks  of  birds  flew  in  front  of  the  advance  of  these 
twenty-six  thousand  men  who  had  dropped  so  suddenly 
into  their  forest  haunts,  giving  in  some  instances  the 
first  notice  of  an  unusual  disturbance  there. 

The  Union  commander,  whose  surprised  troops  were 
about  to  be  overwhelmed,  was  recalled  to  the  period 
when,  as  a  youth,  he  says,  he  watched  the  appearance  of 
contending  winds,  when  the  clouds,  black  and  blacker, 
swift  and  swifter,  rose  high  and  higher  as  they  pushed 
forward  their  angry  front.  He  heard  the  low  rumbling 
from  afar,  and,  as  the  storm  came  nearer,  the  woods  bent 
forward  and  shook  furiously  their  thick  branches.  The 
lightning  zigzagged  in  flashes.  The  deep-bassed  thun 
der  echoed  more  loudly,  till  there  was  scarcely  an  inter 
val  between  its  ominous  crashing  discharges. 

One  half  of  the  eleven  thousand  five  hundred  of  How 
ard's  corps  were  Germans,  and  occupied  the  exposed 
flank.  Devens's,  Steinwehrs's,  Schurz's,  Schimmelfen- 
nig's,  and  Kryzancerski's  troops  were  rolled  over  and 
under  by  this  rapid  "rolling  reconnoissance."  Quickly 
there  was  a  blind  panic  and  great  confusion.  Sickles, 
who  had  moved  to  the  front  from  his  place  in  line  to 
attack  Jackson's  marching  flank,  and  to  whom  Howard 
had  sent  re-enforcements  "  to  make  a  grand  attack  with 
brilliant  results,"  was  near  the  furnace,  and  came  near 
being  severed  from  his  army.  The  air  was  filled  with 
noise  and  smoke;  the  mighty  current  of  panic-stricken 
men  grew  momentarily  deeper  and  wider.  Dickinson, 
one  of  Hooker's  staff,  implored  Howard  to  fire  on  his 
own  men  to  stop  their  flight.  The  surging,  seething  sea 
swept  away  all  barriers.  Many  of  the  officers  attempted 
to  turn  back  the  human  tide,  but  as  well  might  Pharaoh 
have  tried  to  resist  the  walls  of  the  Red  Sea.  Rider 
less  horses  and  men  without  arms  were  everywhere, 


250  GENERAL   LEE. 

and  guns,  caissons,  forges,  ambulances,  battery  wagons 
rolled  and  tumbled  like  runaway  wagons  in  a  thronged 
city.  Mules  tied  in  couples  (a  device  of  Hooker's  to 
carry  ammunition)  added  unearthly  brays  to  the  uproar 
and  scattered  the  ammunition.  One  pair  of  them  en 
tangled  around  a  tree,  was  struck  by  a  shell  which  ex 
ploded  their  load  and  blew  them  to  pieces.  Into  all 
Jackson's  ranks  blazed  a  ceaseless  fire.  Lee's  brilliant 
tactics  had  succeeded,  and  Hooker's  right  had  been  fairly 
turned  and  rolled  in  a  sheet  of  flame  upon  his  center. 

Rodes,  who  led  with  so  much  spirit,  says :  "  The 
enemy,  taken  in  flank  and  rear,  did  not  wait  for  an  at 
tack."  Colston's  division  followed  so  rapidly  that  it 
went  over  the  enemy's  works  at  Dowdall's  with  Rodes's 
troops,  and  both  divisions  fought  with  mixed  ranks  un 
til  dark.  In  a  piece  of  woods  the  line  was  then  halted 
to  reform.  There  was  no  apparent  line  of  battle  be 
tween  them  and  Chancellorsville,  and  Crutchfield's  guns 
were  turned  on  Chancellorsville.  They  were  immedi 
ately  responded  to  by  a  terrific  fire  from  twenty-two  guns 
on  the  plank  road,  loaded  with  double  canister.  Jack 
son  was  most  impatient  to  work  to  Hooker's  rear  and 
cut  him  off  from  the  United  States  Ford,  his  line  of 
retreat,  and  drive  him  on  the  lines  of  McLaws  and 
Anderson,  where  Lee  was.  These  lines,  from  the  na 
ture  of  the  country,  had  been  greatly  strengthened 
with  axe  and  spade.  To  "huddle  "  in  confusion  Hook 
er's  army  in  the  tangled  wilderness  and  surround  it 
seemed  possible. 

A.  P.  Hill  was  now  ordered  to  the  front  to  take  charge 
of  the  pursuit.  While  he  was  engaged  in  forming  his 
lines,  Jackson,  who  was  a  little  in  advance,  sent  a  staff 
officer  to  order  Hill  to  move  forward  as  soon  as  possi 
ble,  and  then,  accompanied  by  Captain  Wilbourn,  of  the 
Signal  Corps,  Captain  Boswell,  and  some  of  his  signal 
men  and  couriers,  rode  slowly  along  the  road  toward 
the  enemy  to  reconnoiter  for  Hill's  advance,  thinking 
perhaps  a  skirmish  line  was  in  his  front.  He  had  not 
proceeded  far  before  he  came  upon  a  line  of  Federal 
infantry  lying  on  their  arms.  Fired  at,  he  turned 
his  horse,  but  unfortunately  rode  a  little  outside  of 
the  route  toward  the  front  of  some  of  his  own  troops, 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  25 1 

who,  ignorant  that  Jackson  had  passed  out  of  the 
lines  and  mistaking  his  party  for  a  squad  of  Union 
cavalry,  fired  upon  it,  killing  his  engineer  officer,  Cap 
tain  Boswell,  and  Sergeant  Cunliff,  of  the  Signal  Corps. 
Jackson  immediately  crossed  the  road  to  avoid  the  fire 
and  enter  his  lines  at  another  point,  when,  again  mis 
taken  by  his  troops,  he  received  at  a  few  paces  another 
volley  from  the  right  company  of  Fender's  North  Caro 
lina  Brigade.  Three  balls  penetrated  him  at  the  same 
time.  A  round  ball  from  a  smooth-bore  Springfield  mus 
ket  passed  through  his  right  hand,  and  was  cut  out  that 
night  under  the  skin.  Another  entered  the  outside  of 
his  left  forearm  near  the  elbow,  coming  out  near  the 
wrist,  while  still  another  struck  him  three  inches  below 
the  left  shoulder  joint,  divided  the  artery,  and  fractured 
the  bone.  Reeling  in  his  saddle  and  losing  hold  of  his 
bridle  rein,  he  was  caught  by  Captain  Wilbourn  and 
placed  on  the  ground.  A.  P.  Hill  was  soon  at  his  side, 
as  well  as  his  two  aids,  Smith  and  Morrison.  The  two 
latter  placed  him  in  a  litter,  and  then  in  an  ambulance 
he  was  carried  from  the  field  amid  the  shrieks  of  the 
shells,  the  whistling  of  the  bullets,  and  the  groans  of  the 
wounded  and  dying.  His  last  order,  after  being  so  fear 
fully  wounded,  was  to  tell  General  Fender  to  hold  his 
ground.  "You  must  hold  your  ground,  sir,"  said  he. 

The  ambulance  which  carried  to  the  field  hospital  at 
Wilderness  Tavern  this  great  soldier  contained  his  chief 
of  artillery,  Crutchfield,  also  dangerously  wounded,  and 
each  seemed  more  concerned  about  the  other's  injuries 
than  his  own.  Here  Jackson's  left  arm  was  amputated 
two  inches  below  the  shoulder,  and  three  days  afterward 
he  was  taken  to  the  Chandler  House,  near  Guinea  Sta 
tion,  on  the  railroad  from  Fredericksburg  to  Rich 
mond,  where  he  died  on  the  following  Sunday.  "  Order 
A.  P.  Hill  to  prepare  for  action,"  he  cried  in  the  delir 
ium  just  before  death.  "  Pass  the  infantry  to  the  front 

rapidly.      Tell  Major   Hawkes "     He  stopped,  and 

then  with  a  feeling  of  relief  he  said  :  "  Let  us  cross 
over  the  river  and  rest  under  the  shade  of  the  trees." 
The  sword  which  carved  his  name  upon  the  shield  of 
fame  had  returned  forever  to  its  scabbard.  His  wish 
was  fulfilled.  "  I  have  always  desired  to  die  on  Sunday," 


252  GENERAL   LEE. 

he  had  said.  When  Lee  received  a  notification  of  his 
being  wounded  he  wrote  to  Jackson  that,  could  he  have 
directed  the  course  of  events,  he  would  have  chosen  for 
the  good  of  his  country  to  have  been  disabled  in  his 
stead.  "  I  congratulate  you,"  he  added,  "  upon  the  vic 
tory  which  is  due  to  your  skill  and  energy."  Howard 
thought  his  death  was  providential,  "  for  in  bold  plan 
ning,  in  energy  of  execution,  in  indefatigable  activity 
and  moral  ascendency,  he  was  head  and  shoulders  above 
his  confreres." 

During  the  flank  march  of  his  great  lieutenant,  Lee 
reminded  the  troops  in  his  front  of  his  position  by  fre 
quent  taps  on  different  points  of  their  lines,  and  when 
the  sound  of  cannon  gave  notice  of  Jackson's  attack, 
Lee  ordered  that  Hooker's  left  be  strongly  pressed  to 
prevent  his  sending  re-enforcements  to  the  point  as 
sailed.  Sunday,  May  3d,  was  an  eventful  day.  Jack 
son's  corps  must  complete  its  work;  but  who  should 
lead  it  ?  A.  P.  Hill,  the  next  in  rank,  had  been  disabled 
shortly  after  Jackson  was  struck  down.  Rodes,  as 
modest  as  he  was  daring,  was  next  in  rank  to  Hill,  but 
in  a  conference  with  Major  Pendleton,  Jackson's  chief 
of  staff,  and  some  of  the  general  officers,  quickly  acqui 
esced  in  a  suggestion  that  General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  be 
sent  for,  because  he  was  satisfied  the  good  of  the  service 
demanded  it.  Stuart  was  at  Ely's  Ford  with  the  cavalry 
and  Sixteenth  North  Carolina  Infantry,  having  gone 
there  to  watch  Averell,  who,  having  returned  from  his 
raid,  was  reported  to  be  at  that  point.  At  10.30  p.  M. 
Captain  Adams,  of  Hill's  staff,  summoned  him  to  the 
command  of  Jackson's  corps.  Upon  Stuart's  arrival 
upon  the  battlefield,  Jackson  had  been  taken  to  the  rear, 
but  A.  P.  Hill,  still  there,  turned  over  the  command  to  him. 
With  the  assistance  of  Colonel  E.  P.  Alexander,  of  the 
artillery,  he  was  engaged  all  night  in  preparations  for 
the  morrow.  At  early  dawn  on  the  3d  Stuart  pressed 
the  corps  forward — Hill's  division  in  the  first  line,  Trim 
ble's  in  the  second,  and  Rodes's  in  the  rear. 

As  the  sun  lifted  the  mist,  the  hill  to  the  right  was 
found  to  be  a  commanding  position  for  artillery.  Quick 
ly  thirty  pieces,  under  Colonels  T.  H.  Carter  and  Hillary 
P.  Jones,  were  firing  from  it,  and  their  fire  was  very 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  253 

effective.  Hooker  was  standing  on  the  steps  of  the 
portico  of  the  Chancellor  House,  giving  directions  about 
the  battle,  which  was  now  raging  with  great  fury,  when 
a  solid  shot  struck  the  pillar  near  him,  splitting  it  in 
two,  and  throwing  one  half  longitudinally  against  him. 
He  says  for  a  few  moments  he  was  senseless,  and  the 
report  spread  that  he  had  been  killed.  To  correct  the 
impression,  as  soon  as  he  revived  he  insisted  on  mount 
ing  his  horse  and  riding  back  toward  a  white  house, 
which  subsequently  became  the  center  of  his  new  posi 
tion.  Just  before  reaching  it  the  pain  from  the  wound 
became  so  intense  that  he  was  obliged  to  dismount,  and 
was  laid  upon  a  blanket  spread  out  upon  the  ground. 
He  was  revived  by  brandy  and  assisted  to  remount.  He 
had  hardly  risen  from  the  blanket  when  a  solid  shot 
struck  in  the  very  center  of  it,  where  a  moment  before 
he  had  been  lying,  and  tore  up  the  earth  in  a  savage 
way.  Pleasonton  says,  when  he  saw  him,  about  10  A.  M., 
he  was  lying  on  the  ground,  usually  in  a  doze,  except 
when  awakened  to  attend  to  some  important  dispatch. 
General  Couch  was  temporarily  called  to  the  command 
of  the  army.  . 

In  the  meanwhile  Stuart  was  pressing  the  attack.  At 
one  time  his  left  was  so  strongly  resisted  that  his  three 
lines  were  merged  into  one.  To  a  notice  sent  him  that 
the  men  were  out  of  ammunition,  he  replied  that  they 
must  hold  their  ground  with  the  bayonet.  About  this 
time  Stuart's  right  connected  with  Anderson's  left, 
uniting  thus  the  detached  portions  of  General  Lee's 
army.  He  then  massed  infantry  on  his  left  and  stormed 
the  Federal  works.  Twice  he  was  repulsed,  but  the 
third  time  Stuart  placed  himself  on  horseback  at  the 
head  of  the  troops,  ordered  the  charge,  carried  the  in- 
trenchments,  and  held  them,  singing  with  ringing  voice, 
"  Old  Joe  Hooker,  won't  you  come  out  of  the  wilder 
ness  ? "  An  eye-witness  says  he  could  not  get  rid  of  the 
impression  that  Harry  of  Navarre  led  the  charge,  except 
that  Stuart's  plume  was  black,  for  everywhere  the  men 
followed  his  feather.  Anderson  at  the  same  time  moved 
rapidly  upon  Chancellorsville,  while  McLaws  made  a 
strong  demonstration  in  his  front.  At  10  A.  M.  the 
position  at  Chancellorsville  was  won,  and  Hooker  had 


254  GENERAL   LEE. 

withdrawn  to  another  line  nearer  the  Rappahannock. 
Preparations  were  at  once  made  by  Lee  to  attack  again, 
when  further  operations  were  arrested  by  intelligence 
received  from  Fredericksburg. 

Sedgwick,  after  the  departure  of  the  First  and  Third 
Corps  from  his  position  below  Fredericksburg,  was  still 
left  with  twenty-nine  thousand  three  hundred  and  forty- 
two  troops,  which  included  Gibbon's  division  of  five 
thousand,  but  excluded  his  reserve  artillery.  On  May 
2d,  at  9.55  A.  M.,  Hooker  telegraphed  him:  "You  are  all 
right.  You  have  but  Early's  division  in  your  front — 
balance  all  up  here."  To  oppose  Sedgwick,  Early  had 
his  division  of  seventy-five  hundred  officers  and  men, 
and  Barksdale's  brigade  of  fifteen  hundred,  making  nine 
thousand.  In  addition,  Early  had  Andrew's  battalion 
of  artillery  of  sixteen  guns,  Graham's  four  guns,  a  Whit- 
worth  gun  posted  below  the  Massaponax,  and  portions 
of  Walton's,  Cabell's,  and  Cutts's  battalions  of  artillery, 
under  General  Pendleton,  making  in  all  some  forty-five 
or  fifty  guns.  At  9  p.  M.  on  the  26.  Hooker  telegraphed 
Sedgwick  to  cross  the  Rappahannock  at  Fredericksburg 
and  move  toward  Chancellorsville  until  he  connected  with 
him,  destroying  Early  in  his  front.  He  tells  him  that 
he  "  will  probably  fall  upon  the  rear  of  the  troops  com 
manded  by  General  Lee,  and  between  us  Lee  must  be 
used  up."  This  order  was  issued  under  the  impression 
that  Sedgwick  was  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  but  it 
found  him  below  Fredericksburg  on  the  south  side.  He 
moved  up  during  the  night,  and  on  the  morning  of  the 
3d,  after  three  assaults,  carried  Marye's  Hill,  capturing 
eight  pieces  of  artillery  upon  that  and  the  adjacent 
heights.  Wilcox,  who  was  at  Banks's  Ford,  threw  him 
self  in  front  of  Sedgwick's  advance  up  the  plank  road 
and  gallantly  disputed  it,  falling  slowly  back  until  he 
reached  Salem  Church,  five  miles  from  Fredericksburg. 
When  Lee  heard  that  Sedgwick,  with  thirty  thousand 
men,  was  marching  on  his  rear,  he  stopped  his  projected 
attack  on  Hooker  and  dispatched  McLaws  with  his 
division  and  one  of  Anderson's  brigades  to  re-enforce 
Wilcox,  that  Sedgwick  might  be  kept  back.  McLaws 
arrived  in  time  to  assist  Wilcox  to  repulse  Sedgwick's 
further  advance.  On  the  morning  of  the  4th  Early  ad- 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  255 

vanced  along  the  telegraph  road  and  regained  Marye's 
and  the  adjacent  hills. 

General  Lee  now  determined  to  crush  Sedgwick  if 
possible;  so  leaving  Stuart  with  Jackson's  corps  in 
Hooker's  front,  he  marched  to  McLaws  and  Early's  as 
sistance  with  Anderson's  division.  Anderson  reached 
Salem  Church  about  noon,  but  the  attack  did  not  begin 
until  about  six,  owing,  General  Lee  says,  to  the  difficulty 
of  getting  the  troops  in  position.  When  the  signal  was 
given,  Anderson  and  Early  moved  forward  at  once  in 
gallant  style,  driving  Sedgwick  across  the  plank  road 
in  the  direction  of  the  Rappahannock.  The  approach 
ing  darkness,  we  are  told  by  General  Lee,  prevented 
McLaws  from  perceiving  the  success  of  the  attack,  until 
the  enemy  began  to  cross  the  river  below  Banks's  Ford. 
When  the  morning  of  the  5th  dawned,  Sedgwick  had 
made  good  his  escape  and  removed  his  bridges.  Fred- 
ericksburg  was  also  evacuated.  Early  was  left  to  hold 
the  lines  as  before,  while  Anderson  and  McLaws  returned 
to  Chancellorsville,  which  place  they  reached  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  5th  in  a  violent  thunderstorm.  At  day 
light  on  the  6th  these  two  divisions  were  ordered  to  as 
sail  the  enemy's  works  in  conjunction  with  Jackson's 
corps,  but  during  the  storm  of  the  night  before,  Hooker 
retired  over  the  river.  One  can  hardly  conceive  a 
greater  risk  than  that  taken  by  General  Lee  in  these 
operations.  For  two  days  Hooker's  immense  army  was 
kept  in  place  by  Jackson's  corps,  while  General  Lee  as 
saulted  Sedgwick. 

The  Confederate  cavalry  operations,  from  smallness 
of  numbers,  were  much  circumscribed.  Stuart  only  had 
five  regiments  at  Chancellorsville,  three  of  them  being  on 
Lee's  left  and  two  on  his  right,  while  two  more  had  been 
left  to  contend  as  best  they  could  with  Stoneman's  ten 
thousand  troopers.  Stoneman  accomplished  nothing. 
Hooker's  official  report  says  that  no  officer  ever  made 
a  greater  mistake  in  construing  his  orders,  and  no  one 
ever  accomplished  less  in  so  doing.  He  returned  to  the 
army  on  the  4th,  the  day  Sedgwick  was  disposed  of. 
General  Lee's  official  report  said  that  "  the  conduct 
of  the  troops  can  not  be  too  highly  praised.  Attacking 
largely  superior  numbers  in  strongly  intrenched  posi- 


256  GENERAL   LEE. 

tions,  their  heroic  courage  overcame  every  obstacle  of 
Nature  and  of  art,  and  achieved  a  triumph  most  honor 
able  to  our  arms." 

Hooker's  General  Order  No.  49,  of  May  6th,  con 
gratulates  his  army  on  its  achievements,  saying  that, 
in  withdrawing  from  the  south  bank  of  the  Rappahan- 
nock  before  delivering  a  general  battle,  the  army  has 
given  renewed  evidence  of  its  confidence  in  itself  and 
its  fidelity  to  the  principles  it  represents.  That  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  was  profoundly  loyal,  and  confi 
dent  of  its  strength,  and  would  give  or  decline  battle 
when  its  interests  or  its  honor  might  demand.  "  The 
events  of  last  week,"  said  he,  "might  well  swell  with 
pride  the  heart  of  every  officer  and  soldier  of  this  army." 
And  then  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  dated  May  i3th, 
1863,  Hooker  says:  "  Is  it  asking  too  much  to  inquire 
your  opinion  of  my  Order  No.  49  ?  If  so,  do  not  answer 
me.  Jackson  is  dead,  and  Lee  beats  McClellan  with  his 
untruthful  bulletins."  It  is  not  known  whether  Mr. 
Lincoln  ever  answered  this  question.  The  truth  is,  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  was  woefully  mismanaged.  Its 
commander  guided  it  into  the  mazes  of  the  Wilderness 
and  got  it  so  mixed  and  tangled  that  no  chance  was 
afforded  for  a  display  of  its  mettle.  General  Paxton 
was  killed  while  leading  his  brigade  with  conspicuous 
courage  in  the  assault  of  the  3d.  Generals  A.  P.  Hill, 
Nichols,  McGowan,  Heth,  Hoke,  and  Pender  were 
wounded. 

Chancellorsville  is  inseparably  connected  in  its  glory 
and  gloom  with  Stonewall  Jackson.  General  Lee  offi 
cially  writes:  "I  do  not  propose  to  speak  here  of  the 
character  of  this  illustrious  man,  since  removed  from  the 
scene  of  his  eminent  usefulness  by  the  hand  of  an  in 
scrutable  but  all-wise  Providence.  I  nevertheless  de 
sire  to  pay  the  tribute  of  my  admiration  to  the  match 
less  energy  and  skill  that  marked  this  last  act  of  his 
life,  forming,  as  it  did,  a  worthy  conclusion  of  that  long 
series  of  splendid  achievements  which  won  for  him  the 
lasting  gratitude  and  love  of  his  country." 

Jackson's  purely  military  genius  resembled  Caesar's 
and  Napoleon's.  Like  the  latter,  his  success  must  be 
attributed  to  the  rapid  audacity  of  his  movements  and 


CH  ANCELLORSVILLE.  257 

to  his  masterly  control  of  the  confidence  and  will  of  his 
men.  He  had  the  daring  temper  and  fiery  spirit  of  Caesar 
in  battle.  Caesar  fell  at  the  base  of  Pompey's  statue, 
which  had  been  restored  by  his  magnanimity,  pierced 
by  twenty-three  wounds  at  the  hands  of  those  he  had 
done  most  for.  Jackson  fell  at  the  hands  of  those  who 
would  have  cheerfully  joined  their  comrades  in  the  dis 
mal,  silent  bivouacks,  if  his  life  could  have  been  spared. 
With  Wolfe,  Nelson,  and  Havelock  he  takes  his  place  in 
the  hearts  of  English-speaking  people. 

General  Lee  wrote  Mrs.  Lee  from  camp  near  Fred- 
ericksburg,  May  n,  1863:  "In  addition  to  the  death  of 
friends  and  officers  consequent  upon  the  late  battle,  you 
will  see  we  have  to  mourn  the  loss  of  the  good  and  great 
Jackson.  Any  victory  would  be  dear  at  such  a  price. 
His  remains  go  to  Richmond  to-day.  I  know  not  how 
to  replace  him,  but  God's  will  be  done.  I  trust  He  will 
raise  some  one  in  his  place." 

The  battle  of  Chancellorsville  increased  immensely 
General  Lee's  fame.  The  difference  in  the  numbers  of 
the  contestants  was  very  marked.  The  three  corps 
originally  crossed  to  Lee's  front  at  Fredencksburg  were 
about  equal  in  numbers  to  the  whole  of  his  army,  so 
that  Hooker's  right  flanking  wing  of  four  corps  repre 
sented  his  numerical  superiority. 

The  tactical  and  strategical  operations  of  Chancel 
lorsville  is  a  remarkably  interesting  military  study.  Two 
armies  seek,  like  the  knight  La  Mancha,  a  foe  to  combat. 
One  is  much  stronger  than  the  other,  and  in  quarter 
master,  commissary,  and  ordnance  supplies  is  vastly  su 
perior.  The  larger  army  assumes  the  offensive,  and 
plans  to  hold  the  smaller  in  place  with  one  of  its  wings, 
while  making  a  three  or  four  days'  detour  with  the  other 
and  greater  portion  to  attack  it  in  reverse.  The  flank 
ing  movement  is  arrested,  while  the  identical  tactics 
proposed  are  adopted  by  the  other  army,  which  in  turn 
successfully  assails  their  flank  and  rear,  and  holds  them 
in  the  close  embrace  of  a  portion  of  the  assailing  troops, 
while  two  divisions  which  had  been  in  their  original  front 
are  countermarched  and  added  to  the  division  left  at 
Fredericksburg.  The  three  then  attack  and  drive  over 
the  river  the  troops  which  were  attempting  to  get  in 


258 


GENERAL   LEE. 


their  rear  at  Chancellorsville,  after  which  they  are 
marched  back  to  join  in  the  expected  battle  around 
Chancellorsville  next  day,  which  did  not  take  place  be 
cause  their  opponents  retreated  across  the  river  during 
the  night.  The  bold  conception  of  Lee  was  faultlessly 
executed  by  officers  and  men.  It  is  true  the  wretched 
terrene  assisted  him  in  holding  the  lines  in  front  of 
Hooker,  for  his  axes  could  quickly  make  it  defensible; 
that  the  forest  concealed  Jackson's  march,  and  that  an 
unpardonable  negligence  permitted  twenty-five  or  thirty 
thousand  troops  to  pass  near  a  line  of  battle  for  many 
hours  and  mass  for  attack  a  short  distance  behind  one 
of  its  flanks. 

Had  Hooker  kept  the  ten  thousand  sabers  of  Stone- 
man,  which  he  sent  away  on  a  fruitless  mission,  and 
placed  them  on  the  right  or  in  front  of  his  flank,  his  in 
fantry  would  not  have  been  surprised  ;  or  had  he  con 
tinued  his  advance  on  Fredericksburg  when  first  moving 
out  of  Chancellorsville,  and,  pushed  his  cavalry  along 
the  route  toward  Todd's  Tavern  and  Spottsylvania 
Court  House,  the  chances  of  success  would  have  been  in 
his  favor.  General  Lee  fought  the  battle  in  the  only 
way  it  could  have  been  won,  but  the  risks  assumed  were 
very  great.  To  say  that  he  committed  faults  is  only  to 
say  that  he  made  war.  Once  more  the  armies  surveyed 
each  other  from  their  old  camps ;  twice  had  one  of  them 
attempted  the  offensive.  It  was  but  fair  that  the  Con 
federates  should  make  the  next  move. 

Lee  devoted  the  few  weeks  of  rest  and  recuperation 
which  now  followed  in  placing  his  army  in  better  condi 
tion  and  reorganizing  it.  He  now  divided  it  into  three 
corps  instead  of  two — three  divisions  to  the  corps — com 
manded  respectively  by  Longstreet,  Ewell,  and  A.  P. 
Hill.  Ewell  had  been  next  in  command  to  Jackson,  par 
ticipating  in  the  glories  of  his  Valley  campaign,  and  main 
taining  his  reputation  as  an  excellent  assistant  to  his 
great  chief.  He  graduated  at  West  Point  in  1840,  and 
served  twenty-one  years  in  the  United  States  Army  ; 
was  in  Mexico,  and  brevetted  for  gallantry  at  Contreras 
and  Churubusco ;  served  on  the  frontier  in  the  dragoons; 
was  forty-three  years  old;  had  lost  a  leg  at  second 
Manassas,  and  was  just  able  to  rejoin  the  army.  He 


CHANCELLORSVILLE. 


259 


succeeded  to  much  of  Jackson's  spirit  and  the  quick 
ness  and  ardor  of  his  strokes  in  battle,  was  kind-hearted, 
eccentric,  and  absent-minded.  It  has  been  said  this 
last  trait  came  very  near  being  fatal  to  him,  for,  forget 
ting  he  had  lost  his  leg,  he  suddenly  started  one  day  to 
walk  and  came  down  on  the  stump,  imperfectly  healed, 
which  produced  a  violent  haemorrhage.  "  Virginia  never 
had  a  truer  gentleman,  a  braver  soldier,  nor  an  odder, 
more  lovable  fellow." 

A.  P.  Hill's  promotion  to  a  corps  commander  was 
bestowed  on  account  of  meritorious  service.  He  had 
graduated  at  West  Point  seven  years  later  than  Ewell, 
and  was  an  artillery  officer  in  the  United  States  Army. 
His  bravery  at  the  first  Manassas,  around  Richmond — 
where  he  drew  the  first  blood — at  second  Manassas, 
Harper's  Ferry,  and  at  Sharpsburg,  had  been  conspicu 
ous,  and  drew  to  him  the  attention  of  his  commanding 
general.* 

The  artillery  arm  consisted  of  fifteen  battalions  of 
four  batteries  each,  besides  the  batteries  of  horse  artil 
lery,  and  to  each  infantry  corps  was  assigned  its  own 
battalions  of.  artillery,  commanded  by  its  own  chief, 
while  the  reserve  artillery  of  the  whole  army  was  in 
charge  of  General  Pendleton,  Lee's  chief  of  artillery. 
This  arm  of  the  service  was  well  commanded,  and  was 
rapidly  asserting  its  claim  to  the  front  rank  of  the  artil 
lery  armament  of  an  army.  Parrott,  Napoleon,  Whit- 
worth,  and  Armstrong  guns,  acquired  by  capture  and 
foreign  purchase,  were  replacing  the  6-  and  1 2-pound 
howitzers.  Longstreet's  two  absent  divisions  had  re 
turned  under  their  distinguished  commander.  The 
cavalry  had  again  been  brought  together,  and  was  more 
numerous  and  effective  than  ever.  At  the  end  of  May, 

*  In  October,  1862,  eight  months  before  the  army  was  reorganized, 
General  Lee  wrote  Mr.  Davis,  recommending  that  Generals  Long- 
street  and  Jackson  be  made  corps  commanders,  and  saying  :  "  Next  to 
these  two  officers  I  consider  A.  P.  Hill  the  best  commander  with  me  ; 
he  fights  his  troops  well  and  takes  good  care  of  them,  but  two  corps 
are  enough  for  the  present."  In  a  published  article  since  the  war, 
General  Longstreet  has  stated  that  General  Lee  would  not  recom 
mend  General  D.  H.  Hill  or  McLaws,  both  of  whom  ranked  A.  P. 
Hill  for  the  Third  Corps,  because  they  were  not  Virginians,  which  is 
not  true,  and  does  General  Lee  very  great  injustice. 


26o  GENERAL   LEE. 

Lee  commanded  a  splendid  army,  numbering  present 
for  duty,  by  the  returns  of  May  31,  1863,  54,356  in 
fantry,  9,536  cavalry,  and  4,460  artillery,  or  a  total  of 
68,352,  with  over  two  hundred  guns.  Its  efficiency, 
confidence,  and  morale  made  it  worthy  of  being  led  by  a 
great  chief. 

The  time  for  active  operations  to  be  resumed  had 
arrived.  Lee  would  have  preferred  that  Hooker  should 
assume  the  offensive,  but  as  he  showed  no  disposition 
to  do  it,  the  financial  condition  of  the  South  and  the 
scarcity  of  supplies  made  time  too  precious  to  wait 
longer  for  such  action  on  his  part. 

Moltke,  with  his  impassive  student  face,  his  bent 
figure,  and  his  periodic  pinches  of  snuff,  directing  opera 
tions  as  if  they  were  certain  calculations,  was  not  more 
diligent  than  Lee,  as  under  his  canvas  shelter  he  planned 
the  Pennsylvania  campaign,  and  designated,  it  is  said, 
Gettysburg  or  its  vicinity  as  the  place  of  battle.  It  is  cer 
tain  that  at  that  time  he  foretold  his  enemy's  movements, 
knew  his  own,  and  predicted  a  meeting  in  Pennsylvania 
east  of  the  mountains.  Among  the  results  to  be  reached 
by  a  march  to  Pennsylvania  was  the  relief  of  the  Con 
federate  commissariat.  Indeed,  when  making  requisi 
tion  for  a  supply  of  rations,  the  commissary  general  is 
reported  to  have  said,  "  If  General  Lee  wants  rations 
let  him  seek  them  in  Pennsylvania."  Among  other  re 
sults  of  a  decisive  successful  battle  on  Northern  soil, 
might  be  a  recognition  of  the  Confederacy  by  foreign 
powers  and  a  lasting  peace. 

General  Lee  had  been  accustomed  to  expose  himself 
unnecessarily  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  about  this  time 
his  son  W.  H.  F.  Lee  wrote  to  him  :  "  I  hear  from  every 
one  of  your  exposing  yourself.  You  must  recollect,  if 
anything  should  happen  to  you  the  cause  would  be  very 
much  jeopardized.  I  want  very  much  to  see  you.  May 
God  preserve  you,  my  dear  father,  is  the  earnest  prayer 
of  your  devoted  son."  Lee  remarked  upon  one  occa 
sion,  when  remonstrated  with  about  endangering  his 
life  :  "  I  wish  some  one  would  tell  me  my  proper  place 
in  battle.  I  am  always  told  I  should  not  be  where  I 
am."  On  May  20,  1863,  from  camp  near  Fredericksburg, 
the  general  writes  to  Mrs.  Lee  in  Richmond :  "  I  learn  that 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  26 1 

our  poor  wounded  are  doing  very  well.  General  Hooker 
is  airing  himself  north  of  the  Rappahannock  and  again 
threatening  us  with  a  crossing.  It  was  reported  last 
night  that  he  had  brought  his  pontoons  to  the  river,  but 
I  hear  nothing  of  him  this  morning.  I  think  he  will 
consider  it  a  few  days.  He  has  published  a  gratu- 
latory  order  to  his  troops,  telling  them  they  have  cov 
ered  themselves  with  new  laurels,  have  destroyed  our 
stores,  communications,  thousands  of  our  choice  troops, 
captured  prisoners  in  their  fortifications,  filling  the  coun 
try  with  fear  and  consternation.  'Profoundly  loyal  and 
conscious  of  its  own  strength,  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
will  give  or  decline  battle  whenever  its  interests  or 
honor  may  demand.  It  will  also  be  the  guardian  of  its 
own  history  and  its  own  honor.'  All  of  which  is  signed 
by  our  old  friend  S.  Williams,  A.  A.  G.  It  shows  at 
least  he  is  so  far  unhurt,  and  is  so  far  good,  but  as  to 
the  truth  of  history  I  will  not  speak.  May  the  great 
God  have  you  all  in  his  holy  keeping  and  soon  unite  us 
again ! "  On  the  3ist  of  May,  two  days  before  he  began 
his  campaign,  he  writes  :  "  Camp  Fredericksburg,  May  31, 
1863. — General  Hooker  has  been  very  daring  the  past 
week,  and  quite  active.  He  has  not  said  what  he  intends 
to  do,  but  is  giving  out  by  his  movements  that  he  designs 
crossing  the  Rappahannock.  I  hope  we  may  be  able  to 
frustrate  his  plans  in  part  if  not  in  whole.  He  has  General 
Heintzelman's  corps  now,  on  whom  the  Northern  papers 
seem  to  place  great  reliance.  I  pray  that  our  merciful 
Father  in  Heaven  may  protect  and  direct  us !  In  that 
case  I  fear  no  odds  and  no  numbers." 

Three  days  before,  Hooker  had  dispatched  to  Secre 
tary  Stanton  that  he  was  certain  important  movements 
were  being  made,  and  that  he  was  in  doubt  as  to  the  direc 
tion  Lee  would  take,  "  but  probably  the  one  of  last  year, 
however  desperate  it  may  appear."  As  Hooker  could 
not  be  attacked  except  at  a  disadvantage,  General  Lee 
determined  to  draw  him  from  his  position  and  transfer 
the  scene  of  hostilities  beyond  the  Potomac. 

This  embraced  the  expulsion  from  the  Valley  of  Vir 
ginia  of  the  Federal  force  under  General  Milroy.  On  the 
2d  of  June  Ewell's  Corps  marched  for  Culpeper  Court 
House,  and  a  day  or  two  afterward  Lee  followed  with 
18 


262  GENERAL   LEE. 

Longstreet's  Corps.  Hill's  Corps  was  left  to  watch 
Hooker  and  follow  as  soon  as  he  should  retire.  A  dar 
ing  commencement  of  a  campaign  !  Hill,  with  less  than 
twenty  thousand  troops,  was  between  Hooker  and  Rich 
mond,  sixty  miles  away,  while  Lee,  with  the  other  two 
corps,  was  at  Culpeper  Court  House,  some  thirty  miles 
distant  in  another  direction. 

Mr.  Lincoln  and  Halleck  would  not  let  Hooker  at 
tack  Hill,  as  General  Lee  supposed,  because  it  was 
"  perilous  to  allow  Lee  to  move  on  the  Potomac  while 
your  army  is  attacking  an  intrenched  position  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Rappahannock,"  wrote  Halleck.  "  If 
left  to  me,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  I  would  not  go  south  of 
the  Rappahannock  upon  Lee's  moving  north  of  it. 
Lee's  army,  not  Richmond,  is  your  true  objective  point. 
Fight  him  when  opportunity  offers ;  if  he  stays  where 
he  is,  fret  him  and  fret  him." 

Hill  would  have  retarded  Hooker's  progress,  falling 
back  toward  the  defenses  of  Richmond,  while  Lee  would 
have  taken  Washington  before  Hooker  could  have  coun 
termarched  and  interposed;  or  he  could  have  placed  his 
troops  in  Richmond  from  Culpeper  by  railroad  in  time 
to  support  Hill.  "  No,"  reiterated  the  Union  President 
to  Hooker,  "  I  would  not  take  any  risk  of  being  entan 
gled  upon  the  river  like  an  ox  jumped  half  over  the 
fence  and  liable  to  be  torn  by  dogs  front  and  rear  with 
out  a  fair  chance  to  gore  one  way  or  kick  the  other." 

Lee's  two  infantry  and  his  cavalry  corps  were  con 
centrated  around  Culpeper  by  the  yth  of  June.  Hooker 
knew  Stuart  was  at  Culpeper  and  thought  he  meant  mis 
chief,  so  determined  to  break  him  up,  if  possible,  by 
sending  all  of  his  cavalry  against  him,  stiffened  by  three 
thousand  infantry. 

General  Lee  reports  that  on  the  pth  of  June  the  cav 
alry  under  General  Stuart  was  attacked  by  a  large  force 
of  Federal  cavalry,  supported  by  infantry,  which  crossed 
the  Rappahannock  at  Beverly's  and  Kelly's  Fords. 
After  a  severe  engagement  from  early  in  the  morning 
until  late  in  the  afternoon,  "  the  enemy  was  compelled 
to  recross  the  river  with  heavy  loss,  leaving  about  five 
hundred  prisoners,  three  pieces  of  artillery,  and  several 
colors  in  our  hands."  On  the  other  hand,  Hooker  dis- 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  263 

patched  that  "  Pleasonton  pressed  Stuart  three  miles, 
capturing  two  hundred  prisoners  and  a  battle  flag.  Our 
cavalry  made  many  hand-to-hand  combats,  always  driv 
ing  the  enemy  before  them." 

General  Lee  wrote  Mrs.  Lee  the  day  of  the  battle 
at  Culpeper,  June  9,  1863  :  "  I  reviewed  the  cavalry 
in  this  section  yesterday.  It  was  a  splendid  sight.  The 
men  and  horses  looked  well.  They  had  recuperated 
since  last  fall.  Stuart  was  in  all  his  glory.  Your  sons 
and  nephews  are  well  and  flourishing.  The  country 
here  looks  very  green  and  pretty,  notwithstanding  the 
ravages  of  war.  What  a  beautiful  world  God  in  his  lov 
ing  kindness  to  his  creatures  has  given  us !  What  a 
shame  that  men  endowed  with  reason  and  knowledge  of 
right  should  mar  his  gifts !  " 

And  again  on  the  nth  of  the  month,  from  the 
same  place,  he  wrote:  "My  supplications  continue  to 
ascend  for  you,  my  children,  and  my  country.  When  I 
last  wrote  I  did  not  suppose  that  Fitzhugh  (his  son) 
would  so  soon  be  sent  to  the  rear  disabled,  and  I 
hope  it  will  be  but  for  a  short  time.  I  saw  him  the 
night  after  the  battle — indeed,  met  him  on  the  field 
as  they  were  bringing  him  from  the  front.  He  is 
young  and  healthy,  and  I  trust  will  soon  be  up  again. 
He  seemed  to  be  more  concerned  about  his  brave 
men  and  officers  who  had  fallen  in  the  battle  than  him 
self." 

The  day  after  the  conflict  between  Pleasonton  and 
Stuart,  Ewell  left  Culpeper,  and  crossed  the  Shenandoah 
near  Front  Royal,  where  Jenkins's  cavalry  brigade  joined 
him,  while  at  the  same  time  Imboden's  cavalry  was  moved 
to  Romney  to  keep  the  troops  guarding  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Railroad  from  re-enforcing  Milroy.  On  the 
i3th  Ewell  was  in  line  of  battle  in  front  of  Winchester, 
and  next  day  he  stormed  and  carried  the  works  there, 
Milroy,  the  Union  commander,  and  a  few  of  his  men 
alone  escaping.  Four  thousand  prisoners,  twenty-eight 
pieces  of  superior  artillery,  wagons,  horses,  small  arms, 
ordnance,  commissary  and  quartermaster  stores  were 
captured.  Ewell  then  entered  Maryland.  How  very 
daring  these  movements  were!  On  June  i2th,  when 
Ewell  was  at  Winchester,  Longstreet  was  at  Culpeper 
18 


264  GENERAL   LEE. 

and  Hill  at  Fredericksburg,  while  Hooker  was  still,  with 
the  larger  part  of  his  army,  in  front  of  Hill. 

Hooker,  having  at  last  found  that  General  Lee  had 
left,  determined  to  move  too,  and  issued  orders  on  the 
i3th  for  four  corps  to  rendezvous  at  Manassas  Junc 
tion.  At  five  o'clock  next  afternoon  Hooker  was  at 
Dumfries,  some  twenty  miles  north  of  Fredericksburg, 
on  the  road  to  Washington,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  asked  him 
by  telegraph  if  he  thought  it  "  possible  that  fifteen  thou 
sand  of  Ewell's  men  can  now  be  at  Winchester?"  and 
later  tells  him  that  the  enemy  have  Milroy  surrounded 
at  Winchester,  and  Tyler  at  Martinsburg,  and  asks  him 
if  he  could  help  them  if  they  could  hold  out  a  few  days, 
and  then  with  habitual  humor  said :  "  If  the  head  of 
Lee's  army  is  at  Martinsburg,  and  the  tail  of  it  on  the 
plank  road  between  Fredericksburg  and  Chancellorsville, 
the  animal  must  be  very  slim  somewhere.  Could  you 
not  break  him  ?" 

There  was  nothing  now  for  the  Union  commander 
to  do  except  to  keep  interposed  between  his  enemy  and 
Washington,  and  Hooker  therefore  concentrated  his 
troops  along  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad.  The 
movement  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  depended  on 
that  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  As  Lee  pro 
ceeded  north,  so  did  Hooker,  on  parallel  lines.  Five 
days  after  Ewell's  departure  from  Culpeper  Court  House 
Longstreet  left.  His  route  was  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge 
with  Stuart's  cavalry  in  his  front  and  on  his  right  flank 
to  mask  his  position.  Hill,  who  had  joined  Lee  again, 
was  then  passed  into  the  Valley  behind  Longstreet's 
lines.  Hooker  was  mystified,  and  pushed  his  cavalry  on 
Stuart  to  see  what  was  going  on.  He  thought  Stuart 
was  preparing  for  a  raid,  "  which  may  be  a  cover  to 
Lee's  re-enforcing  Bragg  or  moving  troops  to  the  west." 
Stuart  and  Pleasonton  had  frequent  encounters  for 
three  days,  but  the  cavalry  mask  was  not  torn  away, 
and  no  information  gained  by  Hooker. 

General  Lee  wrote  Stuart,  June  22d,  that  he  thought 
Pleasonton's  efforts  were  made  to  arrest  the  progress  of 
his  army  and  ascertain  its  location,  and  that  "  perhaps 
he  is  satisfied  "  that  he  was  afraid  the  Federals  would 
"  get  across  the  Potomac  before  we  are  aware  " ;  and 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  265 

that  if  he  found  Hooker  moving  northward,  and  "  two 
brigades  can  guard  the  Blue  Ridge  and  take  care  of 
your  rear,  you  can  move  with  the  other  three  into 
Maryland  and  take  position  on  General  Swell's  right." 
The  same  day  Ewell  was  ordered  toward  the  Susque- 
hanna  and  told  "  if  Harrisburg  comes  within  your 
means,  capture  it."  Stuart  was  to  go  to  Swell's  right 
flank  on  the  Susquehanna,  provided  (Lee  wrote  Long- 
street)  he  could  be  spared  from  his  front,  and  that  he 
could  move  across  the  Potomac  if  Longstreet  thought 
he  could  do  so  without  disclosing  Lee's  plans.  He  was 
then  guarding  Longstreet's  front  and  flank,  which 
brought  him  under  that  officer's  command.  General 
Lee  suggested  that  Stuart  move  through  Hopewell  Gap 
in  the  Bull  Run  Mountains,  pass  in  rear  of  Hooker,  and 
then  cross  the  Potomac.  Longstreet  wrote  Stuart  that 
if  he  "  crossed  by  our  rear  at  Shepherdstown  it  would  in 
a  measure  disclose  our  plans,"  and  that  he  "  had  better 
not  leave  us  unless  you  can  take  the  proposed  route  in 
rear  of  the  enemy."  The  next  day  Stuart  received  from 
Lee  an  order  to  cross  the  Potomac  with  three  brigades, 
either  at  Shepherdstown  or  "  east  of  the  mountains  in 
rear  of  the  enemy,"  and  that  he  must  "  move  on  and  feel 
the  right  of  Ewell  s  troops,"  then  marching  toward  the 
Susquehanna.  Stuart  marched  through  Hopewell  Gap, 
as  suggested  by  General  Lee,  and  took  the  route  in 
rear  of  the  enemy  as  directed  by  Longstreet.  He 
crossed  the  Potomac  at  Seneca,  thirteen  miles  above 
Washington,  the  day  Lee  was  at  Chambersburg  and 
Ewell  at  Carlisle.  This  officer  has  been  unjustly  criti 
cised  for  not  being  in  front  of  Lee's  army  at  Gettys 
burg,  but  Lee  and  Longstreet  must  be  held  responsible 
for  his  route.  Lee  crossed  the  Potomac  west  of  the 
Blue  Ridge,  Hooker  east  of  it,  and  Stuart  between  him 
and  Washington. 

General  Lee  continued  to  march  his  columns  over 
the  river  into  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania.  Ewell,  the 
first  of  the  invaders,  with  Jenkins's  cavalry  brigade 
and  White's  battalion  under  its  fine  commander,  was 
in  advance.  His  march  was  directed  by  Hagerstown 
to  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  and  Carlisle,  where  he  arrived 
on  June  2yth  with  two  of  his  divisions.  His  remain- 


266  GENERAL   LEE. 

ing  division,  under  Early,  was  sent  to  York  to  break 
the  railroad  between  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  and  Baltimore, 
and  seize  the  bridge  over  the  Susquehanna  at  Wrights- 
ville.  Longstreet  and  Hill  encamped  near  Chambers- 
burg  the  day  Ewell  reached  Carlisle.  Lee  was  spread 
ing  over  Northern  territory  in  order  to  collect  as  large 
an  amount  of  supplies  as  possible,  as  well  as  to  draw  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac  away  from  Washington  before  de 
livering  battle.  Under  the  supposition  that  the  Union 
army  was  still  in  Virginia  guarding  the  approaches  to 
Washington,  Lee  had  issued  orders  to  move  upon  Har 
risburg.  Stuart  captured  a  wagon  train  at  Rockville, 
on  the  direct  road  from  Washington  to  Hooker's  army, 
the  nearest  wagon  being  taken  four  miles  from  Wash 
ington  city,  burned  a  large  number,  and  marched  away 
with  two  hundred  wagons  and  their  teams,  burned  the 
railroad  bridge  at  Sykesville,  cut  the  telegraph  wires, 
drove  the  Delaware  cavalry  in  confusion  out  of  West 
minster,  fought  Kilpatrick's  cavalry  at  Hanover,  Pa., 
prevented  two  infantry  corps  from  reaching  Meade 
until  the  second  day  at  Gettysburg,  and  drew  in  pur 
suit  of  his  three  cavalry  brigades  two  Federal  cavalry 
divisions,  and  after  ceaseless  combats  and  night  marches 
reached  Dover,  Pa.,  on  July  ist.  Whole  regiments  slept 
in  their  saddles,  their  faithful  animals  keeping  the  road 
unguided.  Without  rations  for  men,  and  with  horses  ex 
hausted,  Stuart  arrived  at  Carlisle  the  day  Hill  and 
Ewell  were  engaged  at  Gettysburg.  He  wanted  to 
levy  a  contribution  for  rations  on  Carlisle,  but  the  Fed 
eral  General  "  Baldy  "  Smith,  with  his  Pennsylvania  re 
serves,  would  not  surrender  the  place.  Its  probable  cap 
ture  the  next  day  was  prevented  by  news  received  for  the 
first  time  of  General  Lee's  position  and  intentions.  Stu 
art  did  not  know  until  he  received  a  dispatch  from  Gen 
eral  Lee  on  the  night  of  July  ist  where  he  was,  for  the 
Union  army  had  been  between  his  march  and  his  own 
army.  Leaving  Carlisle,  he  marched  at  once  for  Gettys 
burg,  prevented  a  movement  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  on 
Lee's  rear  by  way  of  Hunterstown,  and  took  his  posi 
tion  on  the  York  and  Heidelburg  roads  on  the  left  of 
his  army  late  on  the  evening  of  July  2d. 

Cavalry  raids  are  dazzling,  but  do  not  generally  ac- 


CHANCELLORSVILLE.  267 

complish  enough  to  compensate  for  the  number  of 
broken-down  horses  and  men.  The  cavalry  chief  could 
not  tell  Lee  when  and  where  Hooker's  army  crossed 
the  Potomac,  because,  when  it  was  crossing,  he  was  in 
its  rear,  moving  to  cross  the  day  afterward  lower  down 
the  same  stream,  and  after  that  he  had  no  opportunity. 
It  was  left  to  an  adventurous  scout  to  report  to  General 
Lee,  on  the  night  of  June  28th.  that  Hooker  had  crossed 
the  Potomac  and  was  approaching  the  south  mountains. 
The  information  obliged  him  to  draw  in  his  advance  and 
concentrate  his  army  east  of  the  mountain,  to  prevent 
his  communications  from  being  intercepted.  Had  Lee 
had  all  of  his  cavalry  in  Pennsylvania,  the  irrepressible 
conflict  would  not  have  taken  place  at  Gettysburg,  but 
possibly  on  Pipe  Creek ;  and  had  Hooker  not  detached 
his  cavalry  out  of  his  reach,  the  battle  fought  at  Chan- 
cellorsville  would  possibly  have  taken  place  on  the  con 
fines  of  Fredericksburg. 

On  the  29th  Hill's  corps  was  directed  to  move  toward 
Cashtown  and  Longstreet  to  follow  next  day,  leaving 
Pickett's  division  at  Greenwood  as  a  rear  guard  until 
Imboden  should  get  up  with  his  cavalry  brigade,  while 
Ewell  was  recalled  from  Carlisle  to  Cashtown  or  Gettys 
burg,  as  circumstances  might  require.  As  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia  was  ordered  to  concentrate  in  a 
southerly  direction,  while  Hooker  slowly  advanced  his 
columns  north,  it  was  manifest  the  two  armies  must 
meet.  Topographically,  Gettysburg  was  a  strategic 
point,  available  for  concentration  by  both  armies. 
Roads  from  Washington,  Baltimore,  and  all  points  in 
the  section  south  of  it,  where  the  Union  army  lay  in  its 
fan-shaped  position,  entered  it,  as  well  as  the  roads 
from  Chambersburg,  twenty  miles  off,  via  Cashtown,  and 
from  Carlisle  and  York. 

Lee  was  coming  south  to  guard  his  communications 
and  fight  if  opportunity  presented.  Hooker  was  going 
north  to  prevent  the  occupation  of  so  much  territory 
by  the  detached  parts  of  Lee's  army  and  to  deliver  bat 
tle  when  opportunity  offered.  Each  army  was  manoeu 
vring  for  defensive  combat,  but  each  was  prepared  to 
assume  the  offensive  if  occasion  required,  and  neither 
intended  to  decline  an  encounter.  There  was  a  cry  too 


268  GENERAL   LEE. 

for  blood  from    noncombatants  everywhere — as  strong 
as  once  resounded  in  the  Roman  Coliseum. 

The  night  that  Lee  heard  of  the  Federal  advance 
crossing  the  Potomac,  a  new  commander  was  in  the  sad 
dle.  "  Fighting  Joe  Hooker  "  had  fought  his  last  bat 
tle  as  an  army  commander.  Halleck,  after  the  battle  of 
Chancellorsville,  did  not  want  to  trust  Hooker  with  the 
management  of  another  battle,  and  had  been  sustained 
in  his  opinion  by  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Secretary  Stanton  at 
a  council  held  between  them.  It  was  even  said  that 
politics  was  dragged  into  the  subject,  and  that  the 
friends  of  Mr.  Chase,  a  prospective  presidential  candi 
date,  were  bound  up  in  the  fortunes  of  Hooker,  and  that 
they  interposed  to  prevent  his  removal,  for  "  the  gen 
eral  who  should  ccnquer  the  rebellion  would  have  the 
disposal  of  the  next  presidency."  The  friends  of  presi 
dential  aspirants  were  on  the  lookout  for  the  right  mili 
tary  alliance,  and  it  was  stated  that  if  it  should  be 
Hooker's  fortune  to  bring  the  war  to  a  successful  close 
nothing  would  induce  him  to  accept  other  than  military 
honors  in  recognition  of  his  services.  At  any  rate,  it  is 
certain  Hooker  naturally  resented  interference  in  the 
field  from  a  general  safely  shut  up  in  his  office  in  Wash 
ington,  and  properly  contended  that  one  man  should 
command  all  the  troops  whose  operations  could  be  com 
bined  against  Lee.  Halleck  not  consenting,  the  diffi 
culty  culminated  when  Hooker  requested  that  Maryland 
Heights,  the  gate  to  Harper's  Ferry,  be  evacuated,  that 
he  might  mobilize  the  ten  thousand  troops  there.  Hal 
leck  refused,  and  Hooker,  now  at  Frederick,  Maryland, 
finding  he  was  not  allowed  to  manoeuvre  his  army  in 
the  presence  of  the  enemy,  asked  to  be  relieved  from 
command,  which,  being  in  accordance  with  the  views  of 
the  Washington  authorities,  was  promptly  done. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

GETTYSBURG. 

THE  fifth  commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
was  Major-General  George  Gordon  Meade,  then  in  com 
mand  of  the  Fifth  Corps.  This  officer  was  born  in 
Cadiz,  Spain,  in  December,  1815,  and  was  consequently 
forty-six  years  old.  He  graduated  at  West  Point  in 
1835,  and  was  assigned  to  the  artillery  arm  of  the  service. 
A  year  afterward  he  resigned  from  the  army,  but  after 
six  years  was  reappointed  second  lieutenant  of  the 
Topographical  Engineers,  and  was  in  Mexico  on  Gen 
eral  Patterson's  staff.  Meade's  father  served  as  a  pri 
vate  soldier  in  the  Pennsylvania  troops  to  suppress  the 
"  Whisky  Insurrection  "  in  western  Pennsylvania,  and 
therefore  was  under  General  Lee's  father,  who  com 
manded  the  forces  raised  for  that  purpose.  He  was 
afterward  a  merchant,  a  shipowner,  and  a  navy  agent 
in  Cadiz,  but  shortly  after  his  son's  birth  returned  to 
the  United  States. 

In  justice  to  this  officer,  it  may  be  said  that  he  pro 
tested  against  being  placed  in  command  of  an  army  that 
had  been  looking  toward  Reynolds  as  Hooker's  suc 
cessor,  but,  loyal  to  authority,  he  assumed  the  command 
in  obedience  to  orders.  His  position  was  environed  with 
difficulties,  for  he  was  ignorant  of  Hooker's  plans.  Awak 
ened  from  sleep  by  General  Hardee,  the  War  Depart 
ment  messenger,  he  had  not  much  time  to  get  any 
knowledge  of  them  from  Hooker,  while  a  battle  in  the 
next  few  days  could  not  be  avoided.  He  determined 
to  continue  the  move  northward  through  Maryland  into 
Pennsylvania,  and  force  Lee  to  give  battle  before  he 
could  cross  the  Susquehanna. 

(269) 


270  GENERAL   LEE. 

After  two  days'  march,  he  received  information  that 
Lee  was  concentrating  and  coming  toward  him,  and  he 
at  once  began  to  prepare  the  line  of  Pipe  Creek  to  await 
his  approach  and  fight  a  defensive  battle.  On  the  night 
of  June  3oth  his  headquarters  and  reserve  artillery  were 
at  Taneytown ;  the  First  Corps,  at  Marsh  Creek,  six  miles 
from  Longstreet  and  Hill  at  Cashtown ;  the  Eleventh 
Corps,  at  Emmittsburg  ;  Third,  at  Bridgeport;  Twelfth, 
at  Littletown  ;  Second,  at  Uniontown ;  Fifth,  at  Union 
Mill;  Sixth,  at  Winchester,  Md.,  with  Gregg's  cavalry, 
that  being  his  extreme  right.  Kilpatrick's  cavalry 
division  was  at  Hanover,  Pa.,  while  Buford's  cavalry 
guarded  his  left. 

Lee  was  rapidly  concentrating.  Longstreet  and  Hill 
were  then  near  Cashtown,  Hill's  advance  (Heth's  divi 
sion)  being  seven  miles  from  Gettysburg,  and  Ewell  at 
Heidelburg,  nine  miles  away.  Had  Lee  known  of  the 
defensive  position  at  Gettysburg,  he  could  have  easily 
massed  his  whole  army  on  July  ist  there;  but  he  was  in 
no  hurry  to  precipitate  a  battle,  and  would  have  pre 
ferred  to  fight  at  some  point  not  so  far  from  his  base. 

On  the  3oth  Pettigrew,  commanding  a  brigade  of 
Heth's  division,  Hill's  corps,  was  directed  to  march 
to  Gettysburg  to  get  shoes  for  the  barefooted  men  of 
the  division,  but  returned  the  same  evening  without 
them  and  reported  that  Gettysburg  was  occupied  by 
the  Federal  cavalry,  and  that  drums  were  heard  beating 
on  the  other  side  of  the  town.  So  Heth  told  Hill  if  he 
had  no  objection,  he  would  take  his  whole  division  there 
the  next  day,  July  ist,  and  "get  the  shoes,"  to  which 
Hill  replied,  "  None  in  the  world." 

Buford,  with  his  cavalry  division,  reached  Gettys 
burg  on  the  day  Pettigrew  made  his  visit,  and  threw 
out  his  pickets  toward  Cashtown  and  Hunterstown.  In 
an  order  of  march  for  July  ist,  Meade,  not  knowing  Lee 
was  so  near,  directed  the  First  and  Eleventh  Corps, 
under  that  excellent  officer  Reynolds,  to  Gettysburg; 
Third,  to  Emmittsburg ;  Second,  Taneytown  ;  Fifth, 
Hanover;  Twelfth  to  Two  Taverns;  while  the  Sixth  was 
to  remain  at  Manchester,  thirty-four  miles  from  Gettys 
burg,  and  await  orders. 

Heth,  after  his  coveted  shoes,  reached  McPherson's 


GETTYSBURG.  2/1 

Heights,  one  mile  west  of  Gettysburg,  at  9  A.  M.  on  July 
ist,  deployed  two  brigades  on  either  side  of  the  road, 
and  advanced  on  the  town.  Promptly  the  few  sputter 
ing  shots  which  first  announced  the  skirmish  line's  open 
ing  told  him  that  Buford's  dismounted  cavalry  were 
blocking  the  way  ;  and  the  great  struggle  which  was  to 
determine,  like  Waterloo,  the  fate  of  a  continent,  and 
whether  there  should  be  one  or  two  republics  on  this 
continent,  had  commenced.  Precipitance  was  neither 
desired  by  Meade  nor  Lee,  but  "  shoes  "  took  command 
that  day,  and  opened  a  contest  which  drew  in  its  bloody 
embrace  one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  men.  For 
Reynolds,  hearing  Buford's  guns,  hastened  to  him  with 
the  First  Corps,  Wadsworth's  division  leading.  Hill, 
who  had  followed  Heth  with  Pender's  division,  sent  it 
rapidly  to  his  support,  while  the  Eleventh  Corps  has 
tened  to  the  First  Corps's  assistance.  Ewell,  with  his 
leading  division  (Rodes's),  at  2.30  p.  M.  came  to  Heth's 
and  Pender's  support,  while  Early's  division,  at  about 
3.30  P.  M.,  moved  in  such  a  way  as  to  attack  the  Federal 
flank,  and  at  4  p.  M.  the  Federal  force  was  in  full  retreat 
through  the  town  of  Gettysburg,  toward  the  heights  to 
the  south  of  it,  where  a  brigade  of  Howard's  had  been 
posted  as  a  reserve  and  rallying  point  in  case  of  disaster 
when  his  corps  marched  to  the  battlefield.  A  well-con 
tested  combat  had  occured  between  two  infantry  corps, 
a  cavalry  division,  and  the  artillery  on  one  side,  and 
four  divisions  of  infantry,  with  the  artillery,  on  the 
other. 

Fifty  thousand  men  fought  (after  all  were  up),  about 
equally  divided  in  numbers  between  the  contestants.* 
For  six  hours  the  battle  raged.  General  Lee  reached 
McPherson  Heights  about  2.30  P.M.,  and,  getting  off 
his  horse,  swept  with  his  field  glasses  the  country  in  his 
front ;  he  saw  the  Union  troops  retreating  over  the  hills 
south  of  the  town,  and  'ordered  Walter  Taylor,  of  his 
staff,  to  ride  to  Ewell  and  tell  him  to  move  on  and  oc 
cupy  them,  but  that  he  did  not  want  to  bring  on  a  gen- 

*  Federals — First  Corps,  10,089  ;  Eleventh,  9,893  ;  Buford's  cav 
alry,  3,000.  Total,  22,982.  Confederates — Two  thirds  of  Ewell's  corps, 
two  thirds  of  Hill's — four  divisions — 26,000. 


2/2  GENERAL   LEE. 

eral  engagement  until  Longstreet  arrived.  A  false  re 
port,  however,  caused  Ewell  to  send  out  first  one,  then 
another  brigade  to  guard  his  flank,  and  while  waiting 
for  them  and  his  remaining  division  under  Johnson  to 
get  up,  the  shades  of  coming  night  covered  his  proposed 
field  of  operations.  Lee  had  made  a  good  beginning ; 
his  troops  had  captured  more  than  five  thousand  prison 
ers,  including  two  general  officers,  exclusive  of  a  large 
number  of  the  wounded,  and  three  pieces  of  artillery. 
Heth  had  been  slightly,  General  Scales  seriously,  wound 
ed,  and  General  Archer  captured ;  his  enemy  had  been 
driven  through  Gettysburg  with  great  loss,  and  General 
Reynolds,  their  commander,  killed. 

The  death  of  this  splendid  officer  was  regretted  by 
friend  and  foe.  Able,  brave,  with  military  talents  of 
the  highest  order,  his  place  could  not  well  be  filled.  His 
Government  recognized  his  merit,  and  he  was  next  on 
the  list  for  the  command  of  the  army.  Napier's  eulogy 
on  Ridge  has  been  happily  applied  to  him:  "No  man 
died  on  that  field  with  more  glory  than  he,  yet  many 
died,  and  there  was  much  glory !  " 

The  Confederate  success  was  not  followed  up.  Lee 
wanted  Longstreet's  troops  to  be  present  before  deliver 
ing  a  general  battle,  and,  perhaps,  did  not  make  his  order 
for  pursuit  positive.  He  says  Ewell  was  directed  to  pur 
sue  "  if  practicable."  Had  Ewell  decided  to  go  forward 
on  the  ist  of  July,  the  Southern  troops  would  have  been 
in  line  of  battle  on  Cemetery  Heights  that  afternoon, 
and  Meade  would  have  been  occupied  during  the  night 
in  forming  defensive  lines  on  Pipe  Creek,  ten  or  twelve 
miles  distant,  or  elsewhere.  Heth  lost  on  the  ist  twenty- 
five  hundred  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  which  left  him 
forty-three  hundred.  The  losses  in  the  other  division 
were  not  so  heavy.  Allowing  them  forty-five  hundred 
effectives  at  the  close  of  the  action,  would  give  the  four 
divisions  seventeen  thousand  eight  hundred  to  pursue. 

A  letter  of  Hancock's,  the  officer  dispatched  by 
Meade,  on  hearing  of  Reynolds's  death,  to  supersede 
Howard,  his  senior  in  command  at  Gettysburg,  says: 
"  When  I  arrived  upon  the  field,  about  3  p.  M.  or  between 
that  and  3.30  P.  M.,  I  found  the  fighting  about  over;  the 
rear  of  our  troops  were  hurrying  through  the  town,  pur- 


GETTYSBURG.  2/3 

sued  by  the  Confederates.  There  had  been  an  attempt 
to  reform  some  of  the  Eleventh  Corps  as  they  passed 
over  Cemetery  Hill,  but  it  had  not  been  very  successful. 
I  presume  there  may  have  been  one  thousand  or  twelve 
hundred  organized  troops  of  that  corps  in  position  on 
the  hill."  Twenty-four  hundred  and  fifty  men,  the  shat 
tered  remains  of  the  First  Corps,  were  there  too,  and  Bu- 
ford's  cavalry  were  drawn  up  upon  the  plain,  making  a 
total  of  six  thousand  troops,  which  could  not  have 
offered  much  resistance  against  the  victorious  seventeen 
thousand  of  Ewell  and  Hill,  and  two  hours  must  elapse 
before  they  could  receive  re-enforcements,  and  then  only 
at  6  P.  M.,  of  two  divisions  of  the  Twelfth  Corps ;  but 
Johnson's  division  of  Ewell's  corps  reached  the  town  at 
six,  and  Anderson's,  of  Hill's,  could  have  been  there  too 
if  necessary,  which  would  have  maintained  the  original 
status. 

At  sunset  two  brigades  of  Sickles's  Third  Corps  ar 
rived;  Sickles  in  person  reached  the  field  an  hour  ear 
lier.  They  would  have  been  too  late,  and  would  have 
been  recalled  to  Pipe  Creek,  with  all  other  troops  then 
in  motion  toward  Gettysburg.  Two  brigades  of  Fen 
der's  and  one  of  Early's  division  had  scarcely  fired  a 
shot.  Dole's,  Hoke's,  and  Hays's  brigades  were  in  good 
condition.  "  The  artillery  was  up,  and  had  an  admi 
rable  position  to  cover  an  assault,  which  could  have  been 
pushed  under  cover  of  the  houses  to  within  a  few  rods 
of  the  Union  position."  The  impartial  military  critic 
will  admit  Confederate  camp  fires  would  have  blazed  at 
night  and  Confederate  banners  waved  in  the  afternoon 
from  the  high  places  south  of  Gettysburg  had  Ewell 
and  Hill  marched  again  on  the  broken  and  vanquished 
Federal  battalions. 

Gettysburg  is  a  small  town  near  the  Pennsylvania 
and  Maryland  boundary  line,  ten  miles  east  of  the  south 
range  of  mountains — "  the  eastern  wall  of  the  Cumber 
land  Valley  " — and  through  whose  passes  Lee's  army  de 
bouched.  The  intervening  section  is  described  as  full 
of  long  ridges  running  north  and  south,  as  the  mountains 
do.  On  Lee's  route  from  Cashtown  to  Gettysburg  one 
of  these  ridges  is  crossed  at  right  angles  one  and  a  half 
mile  west  of  Gettysburg,  and  a  little  farther  on  an- 


2/4 


GENERAL   LEE. 


other ;  Willoughby  Run  flows  between  them,  and  here 
the  combat  of  July  ist  opened.  Closer  to  the  town  and 
about  half  a  mile  west  of  it  is  the  now  famous  Seminary 
Ridge,  so  called  from  a  Lutheran  theological  seminary 
on  it,  upon  which  were  located  the  battle  lines  of  por 
tions  of  two  of  Lee's  corps  on  the  2d  and  3d  of  July. 

Directly  south  of  Gettysburg  is  the  beginning  of  an 
other  series  of  heights,  hills,  and  depressions  which,  run 
ning  in  a  southerly  direction  for  three  miles,  terminate 
,in"a  lofty,  wooded,  rocky  peak"  called  Round  Top. 
Adjoining  this  peak  on  its  north  side  is  Weed's  Hill,  bet 
ter  known  as  Little  Round  Top — a  spur  to  Round  Top — 
"rough  and  bald."  Round  Top  is  at  the  southern  ex 
tremity  of  this  ridge.  A  cemetery  at  the  northern  point 
gives  to  the  ridge  its  name.  Upon  this  ridge  the  Fed 
eral  line  of  battle  was  formed.  An  undulating  valley 
stretches  up  to  Seminary  Ridge,  a  mile  distant,  and  on 
the  elevated  tableland  between  the  two  runs  the  Em- 
mittsburg  road. 

Gettysburg  lies  at  the  base  of  Cemetery  Hill,  where 
the  ridge  bends  in  a  curve,  east,  and  then  southeast,  to 
an  elevation  called  Gulp's  Hill.  On  Gulp's  Hill  and 
around  this  curve,  and  then  south  to  Round  Top  for 
three  miles,  was  the  Union  battle  line.  Its  shape  has 
been  not  inaptly  compared  to  a  fish  hook,  with  long 
side  and  curve.  The  formation  was  convex,  allowing 
the  Union  commander  to  operate  tactically  on  interior 
lines,  so  that  he  could  rapidly  re-enforce  along  his  rear 
the  threatened  points.  The  ground  in  rear  of  this  splen 
did  battle  line  fell  in  gradual  slope  to  Rock  Creek,  af 
fording  capital  shelter  for  reserves  and  trains. 

Five  hundred  yards  west  of  Little  Round  Top,  and 
one  hundred  feet- lower,  is  Devil's  Den,  "a  bold,  rocky 
height,  steep  on  its  eastern  face,  but  prolonged  as  a 
ridge  to  the  west."  It  lies  between  two  streams  in  the 
angle  where  they  meet.  The  northern  extremity  is  cov 
ered  with  huge  bowlders  and  rocks,  forming  crevices  and 
holes,  the  largest  of  which  gives  the  name  to  the  ridge. 
Gettysburg  is  the  hub  of  the  wheel,  and  the  Baltimore, 
York,  Harrisburg,  Carlisle,  Mummasburg,  Chambersburg, 
Millerstown,  Emmittsburg,  and  Taneytown  roads  the 
spokes.  Lee's  troops  were  distributed  over  a  larger 


GETTYSBURG.  275 

"  fishhook,"  surrounding  the  smaller  or  inner  one ;  his 
extreme  left  was  in  front  of  Meade's  refused  right  at 
Gulp's  Hill.  Johnson's,  Early's,  and  Rodes's  divisions, 
in  order  named,  were  located  on  the  curve  and  through 
the  town  to  Seminary  Ridge  from  left  to  right;  then 
came  Hill's  corps,  stretching  south,  and  later,  Long- 
street's  was  formed  on  its  right. 

The  army  smallest  in  numbers  had  the  longest  or 
outside  line,  while  the  largest  force  occupied  in  its  front 
a  superb  defensive  position.  Lee's  army  was  practically 
concentrated  on  the  night  of  the  ist,  except  his  cavalry 
and  Pickett's  infantry  division,  Ewell  and  Hill  in  front 
of  the  enemy,  and  Longstreet  in  camp  only  four  miles 
in  the  rear.  Meade  and  his  Second  Corps  were  at  Taney- 
town,  in  Maryland,  when  the  sun  went  down  on  the  ist, 
thirteen  miles  distant ;  the  Fifth  Corps,  at  Union  Mills, 
twenty-three  miles  distant  and  the  Sixth  Corps,  sixteen 
thousand  men,  thought  to  be  the  largest  and  finest  in 
the  army,  was  at  Manchester,  thirty-four  miles  away. 
Both  Meade  and  Lee  would  have  preferred  to  postpone 
the  battle  a  few  days,  but  were  face  to  face  sooner  than 
contemplated. 

Meade  received  Hancock's  report  on  the  evening  of 
the  ist,  and  determined  in  consequence  to  fight  the  bat 
tle  at  Gettysburg,  and  issued  orders  for  the  movement 
of  his  troops  at  7.30  p.  M.  that  evening.  In  two  hours 
he  left  Taneytown,  and  arrived  on  Cemetery  Ridge  at 
i  A.  M.  There  is  testimony  that  he  did  not  like  his  posi 
tion,  and  his  chief  of  staff  says  he  was  directed  to  pre 
pare  an  order  to  withdraw  the  army  from  it. 

The  Union  commander  was  uncertain  whether  he 
could  bring  his  two  fine  corps,  the  Fifth  and  Sixth,  on 
the  field  in  time,  and  was  solicitous  about  his  depot  of 
supplies  at  Westminster. 

As  late  as  3  p.  M.  on  the  2d,  and  before  he  was  at 
tacked,  he  telegraphed  in  cipher  to  Halleck  that  if  his 
enemy  did  not  attack,  and  he  "  finds  it  hazardous  to  do 
so,  or  is  satisfied  the  enemy  is  endeavoring  to  move  to 
my  rear  and  interpose  between  me  and  Washington,  I 
shall  fall  back  to  my  supplies  at  Westminster." 

Lee,  impressed  with  the  idea  of  whipping  his  opponent 
in  detail,  on  the  other  hand,  was  practically  ready  and 


276  GENERAL   LEE. 

eager  for  the  contest  next  day,  and  so  was  his  confident 
army.  He  was  under  no  obligation,  as  has  been  affirmed, 
to  any  one  to  fight  a  defensive  battle ;  he  sought  the 
enemy's  soil  to  gain  a  victory,  whether  by  offensive  or 
defensive  tactics,  and  his  objective  point  was  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac.  He  knew  the  Union  army  had  not  yet 
concentrated,  and  was  anxious  to  attack  before  it  could. 
He  had  already  talked  with  Longstreet,  who,  following 
Hill's  corps,  joined  him,  at  5  p.  M.,  the  afternoon  of  July 
ist,  on  Seminary  Ridge,  where  both  made  a  careful  sur 
vey  with  glasses  of  the  hostile  heights  opposite,  and,  it 
is  presumed,  attempted  to  impress  him  with  the  impor 
tance  of  an  early  attack  next  day,  and  later  that  night 
saw  him  again.  On  the  same  evening  he  rode  into  the 
town  of  Gettysburg,  and  met,  in  an  arbor  attached  to  a 
small  house  on  the  Carlisle  road  north  of  the  town,  Ewell, 
Early,  and  Rodes. 

The  Confederate  commander  was  anxious  at  first 
that  Ewell  and  Hill  should  commence  the  battle,  and 
seemed  apprehensive  that  Longstreet  might  not  get  into 
position  as  soon  as  the  conditions  demanded,  but  finally 
yielded  to  the  opinion  expressed,  that  Longstreet  should 
commence  the  battle  by  a  forward  movement  on  Hill's 
right,  seize  the  commanding  positions  on  the  enemy's 
left,  and  envelop  and  enfilade  the  flank  of  the  troops  in 
front  of  the  other  two  corps.  Lee  left  the  conference, 
Early  states,  with  the  "distinct  understanding  that 
Longstreet  would  be  ordered  to  make  the  attack  early 
next  morning."  General  W.  N.  Pendleton,  his  chief  of 
artillery  and  his  honored  and  trusted  friend,  has  put  on 
record  that  General  Lee  told  him  that  night,  after  he 
[Pendleton]  returned  from  a  reconnoissance  on  the  right 
flank,  that  he  "had  ordered  General  Longstreet  to  attack 
on  the  flank  at  sunrise  next  morning." 

Hill,  in  his  official  report,  says,  "  General  Longstreet 
was  to  attack  the  flank  of  the  enemy  and  sweep  down 
his  line."  And  General  Long,  of  Lee's  staff,  writes,  in 
his  opinion  orders  were  issued  for  the  movement  to 
begin  on  the  enemy's  left  as  early  as  practicable. 

Lee's  plan  of  battle  was  simple.  His  purpose  was  to 
turn  the  enemy's  left  flank  with  his  First  Corps,  and 
after  the  work  began  there,  to  demonstrate  against  his 


GETTYSBURG. 


277 


lines  with  the  other  two  in  order  to  prevent  the  threat 
ened  flank  from  being  re-enforced,  these  demonstrations 
to  be  converted  into  a  real  attack  as  the  flanking  wave 
of  battle  rolled  over  the  troops  in  their  front. 

Lee  did  not  like  Ewell's  bent  line — his  left  was  too 
far  around  the  curve  of  the  fishhook — and  decided  to 
draw  him  more  to  his  right.  But  that  fine  old  soldier  had 
seen  that  Gulp's  Hill  was  the  key  to  the  Federal  right, 
and  was  told  that  it  was  unoccupied  at  dark,  by  two 
staff  officers  who  said  they  were  on  its  top  at  that  time. 
At  his  request  he  was  allowed  to  remain  to  secure  the 
hill  at  daybreak.  Hancock,  however,  reports  that  he 
ordered  Wadsworth's  division  with  a  battery  of  artillery 
to  take  post  there  in  the  afternoon.  The  Federal  right 
was  very  strong.  The  woods  on  Gulp's  Hill  enabled  its 
defenders,  with  a  multitude  of  axes  and  spades,  to  con 
vert  it  promptly  into  a  fort. 

When  Lee  went  to  sleep  that  night  he  was  convinced 
that  his  dispositions  for  battle  next  day  were  under 
stood  by  the  corps  commanders,  for  he  had  imparted 
them- to  each  one  in  person.  On  the  morning  of  July 
2d  Lee  was  up  before  light,  breakfasted,  and  was  "ready 
for  the  fray,"  but  his  chariot  of  war  had  hardly  started 
before  he  found  his  corps  team  were  not  pulling  to 
gether  ;  the  wheel  horse  selected  to  start  it  was  balky 
and  stubborn,  and,  after  stretching  his  traces,  did  not 
draw  his  share  of  the  load  with  rapidity  enough  to  be 
effective. 

We  hear  from  General  Longstreet  that  on  the  even 
ing  of  the  ist  he  was  trying  to  induce  Lee  not  to  attack, 
but  manoeuvre,  and  on  the  2d  he  "  went  to  General  Lee's 
headquarters  at  daylight  and  renewed  my  views  against 
making  an  attack ;  he  seemed  resolved,  however,  and 
we  discussed  results." 

In  consequence  of  the  reluctance  of  the  officer  next 
in  command  to  fire  the  opening  gun,  Lee  was  induced  to 
send  Colonel  Venable,  of  his  staff,  to  Ewell  at  sunrise  to 
see  whether,  after  viewing  the  position  in  his  front  by 
daylight,  he  could  not  attack  from  his  flank,  but  the 
work  of  thousands  of  men  during  the  night  made  the 
hills  too  strong  to  assault;  indeed,  Meade  was  then 
massing  there  to  attack  Ewell.  Later,  Lee  rode  there 
19 


2;8  GENERAL   LEE. 

himself,  not  wishing  to  drive  his  right  corps  commander 
into  battle  when  he  did  not  want  to  go,  but  saw  nothing 
could  be  done,  so  at  eleven  o'clock  gave  a  positive 
order  to  Longstreet  to  move  to  his  right  and  attack. 

It  was  clearly  the  duty  of  Longstreet  to  carry  out 
his  commander's  views  and  not  lapse  into  refractori 
ness.  Lee  might  possibly  have  moved  toward  Freder 
ick  on  the  2d,  and  thus  forced  Meade  to  fall  back  to 
Westminster,  but  he  could  not  hope  to  reach  Baltimore 
or  Washington,  or  a  point  between  these  cities  before 
Meade.  From  Westminster  cars  could  have  conveyed 
the  Union  troops  more  rapidly  than  his  could  have 
marched,  and  if  Meade  had  followed  him  toward  Wash 
ington  he  would  have  been  caught  between  the  power 
ful  works  then  defended  by  thirty  or  forty  thousand 
troops  and  General  Meade's  army,  while  the  change  of 
base  would  have  greatly  endangered  his  lines  of  com 
munication. 

The  closer  the  two  armies  approached  Westminster 
the  larger  the  numbers  of  the  Unionists  would  grow. 
Lee  could  not  move  around  now  and  manoeuvre,  or  scat 
ter  his  legions  to  gather  supplies  as  he  had  done,  because 
his  opponent  was  uncomfortably  near.  He  could  not 
march  en  masse,  with  a  host  subsisting  by  pillage,  and  to 
concentrate  was  to  starve.  There  was  no  alternative — 
he  must  fight. 

He  was  obliged  to  adopt  the  tactics  of  William  the 
Conqueror  when  he  invaded  England,  who,  similarly  situ 
ated,  assumed  the  offensive  and  defeated  Harold  at  Hast 
ings.  Napoleon  waited  at  Waterloo  for  the  ground  to 
dry  and  lost  hours,  during  which  he  might  have  defeated 
Wellington  before  the  arrival  of  re-enforcements.  Why 
should  Lee  lose  the  advantages  of  his  more  rapid  con 
centration  ?  His  "  superb  equipoise "  was  not  threat 
ened  by  "subdued  excitement."  His  unerring  sagacity 
told  him  he  would  catch  General  Meade  partially  in 
position,  but  he  was  disturbed  because  one  of  his  prin 
cipal  officers  had  not  the  faith  and  confidence  necessary 
to  win  success. 

Longstreet's  troops  not  long  after  daybreak  stacked 
arms  near  the  battlefield.  Hood  reports  he  was  in  front 
of  the  heights  of  Gettysburg  shortly  after  daybreak. 


GETTYSBURG.  2/9 

General  Lee  was  there  walking  up  and  down  under  the 
large  trees  near  him,  and  seemed  full  of  hope,  but  at 
times  buried  in  deep  thought.  He  seemed  anxious  that 
Longstreet  should  attack,  says  Hood.  "  The  enemy  is 
here,"  Lee  said,  "  and  if  we  don't  whip  him  he  will  whip 
us."  Hood  states  that  Longstreet  afterward  said,  seat 
ing  himself  near  the  trunk  of  a  tree  by  his  side:  "  The 
general  is  a  little  nervous  this  morning.  He  wishes  me 
to  attack.  I  do  not  want  to  do  so  without  Pickett.  I 
never  like  to  go  into  battle  with  one  boot  off." 

McLaws  says  that  his  orders  were  to  leave  his  camp 
at  4  A.  M.,  but  were  afterward  changed  to  sunrise  ;  that  he 
reached  Gettysburg  at  a  very  early  hour,  and  halted  the 
head  of  his  column  within  a  hundred  yards  of  where  Gen 
eral  Lee  was  sitting  on  a  fallen  tree  with  a  map  beside 
him ;  that  he  went  to  Lee,  who  pointed  out  to  him  on 
the  map  the  road  to  his  right  as  the  one  he  wanted  him 
to  place  his  division  across,  and  that  he  wished  him  to 
get  there,  if  possible,  without  being  seen  by  the  enemy ; 
that  the  line  pointed  out  was  perpendicular  to  the  Em- 
mittsburg  road,  about  the  position  he  afterward  occu 
pied,  and  that  "  Longstreet  was  then  walking  back  and 
forth  some  little  distance  from  General  Lee,  but  came 
up  and,  pointing  to  the  map,  showed  him  how  he  wanted 
his  division  located,  to  which  General  Lee  replied  :  '  No, 
general,  I  wish  it  placed  just  the  opposite,' "  and  "  that 
Longstreet  appeared  as  if  he  were  irritated  and  an 
noyed,  but  the  cause  I  did  not  ask." 

McLaws,  while  waiting,  reconnoitered  in  his  front, 
and  was  soon  convinced  that  by  crossing  the  ridge  where 
he  was  then  his  "  command  could  reach  the  point  indi 
cated  by  General  Lee  in  half  an  hour  without  being 
seen."  McLaws  then  went  back  to  the  head  of  his  col 
umn  and  sat  on  his  horse,  he  says,  and  "  saw  in  the  dis 
tance  the  enemy  coming,  hour  after  hour,  on  to  the  battle 
ground."  Wilcox's  brigade  of  Anderson's  division,  Hill's 
corps,  which  had  been  left  on  picket  on  Marsh  Creek,  east 
of  which  stream  Longstreet's  corps  bivouacked  the  night 
of  the  ist,  left  its  post  after  sunrise,  passed  through 
Hood's  and  McLaws's  divisions,  whose  arms  were  stacked, 
and  went  into  line  of  battle  on  Anderson's  right  at  9  A.  M. 
Wilcox's  right  rested  in  a  piece  of  woods,  and  seven 
19 


280  GENERAL   LEE. 

hours  afterward,  at  4  P.  M.,  McLaws  formed  in  these 
same  woods. 

Longstreet  admits  that  he  was  ordered  at  eleven  to 
move  to  the  right  to  attack  with  the  portion  of  the  com 
mand  then  up,  but  delayed,  on  his  own  responsibility,  to 
await  General  Laws's  brigade,  which  had  been  detached 
on  picket.  His  disobedience  of  orders  in  failing  to  march 
at  once  with  his  command  then  present,  many  believe, 
lost  to  Lee  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  With  a  corps  com 
mander  who  knew  the  value  of  time,  obeyed  orders  with 
promptness  and  without  argument,  Lee's  movement  on 
Meade's  left  could  have  commenced  at  seven  or  eight 
o'clock  A.  M.,  with  all  the  chances  for  success,  and  there 
would  probably  have  been  no  combat  on  the  3d.  The 
Third  Federal  Corps  was  not  all  up  at  the  hour  the  at 
tack  should  have  been  made,  or  a  division  of  the  Fifth, 
or  the  reserve  artillery,  or  the  Sixth  Corps. 

When  McLaws  and  Hood  advanced,  eight  or  nine 
hours  afterward,  the  conditions  had  changed  ;  Meade, 
having  relinquished  his  design  to  attack  from  his  right, 
had  been  steadily  strengthening  his  left,  and  his  whole 
army  was  concentrated  on  a  splendid  defensive  line,  for 
Lee  had  waited,  as  if  he  did  not  purpose  to  take  advan 
tage  of  his  being  first  prepared  to  fight.  The  fine  Fed 
eral  position  would  have  been  useless  to  Meade  had 
Longstreet  attacked  only  a  few  hours  earlier,  as  he  might 
have  done,  for  in  that  case  he  would  have  secured 
Round  Top,  six  hundred  and  sixty-four  feet  high,  and 
one  hundred  and  sixteen  feet  higher  than  Little  Round 
Top,  one  thousand  yards  north  of  it,  and  crowned  it 
with  artillery.  "  Little  Round  Top  would  have  been  un 
tenable,  and  Little  Round  Top  was  the  key  point  of  my 
whole  position,"  said  Meade;  "and  if  they"  (his  oppo 
nents)  "  had  succeeded  in  occupying  that,  it  would  have 
prevented  me  from  holding  any  of  the  ground  I  subse 
quently  held  to  the  last." 

Lee  to  the  strong  courage  of  the  man  united  the 
loving  heart  of  the  woman.  His  "  nature  was  too  epi 
cene,"  said  an  English  critic,  "  to  be  purely  a  military 
man."  He  had  a  reluctance  to  oppose  the  wishes  of 
others,  or  to  order  them  to  do  anything  that  would  be 
disagreeable  and  to  which  they  would  not  consent 


GETTYSBURG.  28 1 

"  Had  I  Stonewall  Jackson  at  Gettysburg,  I  would  have 
won  a  great  victory,"  he  said  to  Professor  White,  of  the 
Washington  and  Lee  University,  after  the  war,  because 
he  knew  it  would  have  been  sufficient  for  Jackson  to 
have  known  his  general  views  without  transmitting  posi 
tive  orders,  and  that  Stonewall,  quick  and  impatient, 
would  have  been  driving  in  the  enemy's  flank  ere  the 
rays  of  the  morning  sun  lifted  the  mists  from  the  Round 
Tops.  If  Lee  had  issued  by  his  chief  of  staff  his  battle 
order  for  the  2d  in  writing,  as  is  customary,  Longstreet 
would  have  carried  it  out  probably  in  good  faith,  and 
not  have  wasted  most  valuable  time  in  attempting  to 
convince  his  commander  it  was  faulty. 

The  attack  on  the  right,  commencing  five  or  six 
hours  after  the  positive  order  had  been  given,  even  then 
had  some  elements  of  success.  Sickles,  with  the  Third 
Corps,  had  become  dissatisfied  with  his  location,  and 
had  moved  out  about  twelve  o'clock  nearly  a  mile  in  his 
front  and  taken  a  new  alignment,  which  became  a  salient 
to  the  main  line.  Lee  was  deceived  by  it,  and  gave  gen 
eral  orders  to  "  attack  up  the  Emmittsburg  road,  par 
tially  enveloping  the  enemy's  left,"  which  Longstreet 
"  was  to  drive  in."  There  was  much  behind  Sickles,  and 
Longstreet  was  attacking  the  Marye  Hill  of  the  position 
only.  "  Sickles's  right  was  three  fourths  of  a  mile  in 
front  of  Hancock's  left,"  says  Meade,  "and  his  left  one 
quarter  of  a  mile  in  front  of  the  base  of  the  Little  Round 
Top,  leaving  that  key  point  unoccupied,"  which  should 
have  been  seized  by  Longstreet  before  Meade  did  so 
with  the  Fifth  Corps. 

Sickles's  right  rested  on  the  Emmittsburg  road,  and 
then  his  line  was  refused  in  the  direction  of  the  Round 
Top,  making  an  angle  at  that  point,  his  corps  facing 
westerly  and  southerly.  Lee  wanted  to  get  possession 
of  this  point  to  assail  and  carry  the  more  elevated 
ground  beyond,  but  the  Fifth  Corps  had  then  been 
placed  on  the  ground  referred  to,  and  the  Sixth  Corps, 
under  sturdy  old  Sedgwick,  had  arrived,  having  marched 
thirty-four  miles  since  9  P.  M.  the  previous  night,  and 
was  in  position  before  the  two  divisions  of  Lee's  First 
Corps,  which  were  in  bivouac  only  four  miles  in  rear 
of  the  field.  The  tired  troops  of  the  Sixth  Corps  were 


282  GENERAL   LEE. 

massed  on  the  Taneytown  road,  in  the  rear  of  Little 
Round  Top.  When  that  gallant  officer,  Hood,  was  in 
formed  by  his  Texas  scouts,  that  instead  of  attacking 
Sickles's  left  he  could  turn  Round  Top,  he  sent  three 
officers,  at  different  intervals  of  time,  to  Longstreet, 
asking  to  do  it,  but  in  every  case  was  answered,  "  Gen 
eral  Lee's  orders  are  to  attack  up  the  Emmittsburg 
road."  As  he  was  going  into  battle  Longstreet  rode  up, 
and  Hood  again  asked  permission  to  make  the  move, 
but  was  told,  "  We  must  obey  General  Lee's  orders." 
A  strange  acknowledgment  from  one  who  a  few  hours 
before  had  disregarded  them. 

In  twenty  minutes  Hood  was  borne  from  the  field 
badly  wounded.  The  immense  bowlders  of  stone  so 
massed  as  to  form  narrow  openings  offered  great  ob 
struction  to  the  advance  of  Hood's  right,  and  he  was 
exposed  to  a  heavy  fire  from  the  crest  of  the  high  range 
adjoining  Little  Round  Top.  Had  Lee  known  the  situa 
tion  Hood  would  have  been  thrown  more  to  his  right. 
He  would  not  have  succeeded  in  getting  around  the 
Union  left  rear,  for  the  Sixth  Corps  would  have  blocked 
his  way,  but  he  would  have  secured  and  held  Round 
Top,  and  in  all  probability  Little  Round  Top  too,  for 
a  plunging  fire  from  big  Round  Top  would  have  cleared 
its  crest  and  sides  of  Federal  troops. 

The  Fifteenth  Alabama,  under  the  brave  Colonel 
Gates,  was  on  the  extreme  right  of  Hood's  line,  and  ad 
vanced  up  the  southern  slope  of  the  Round  Top  in  the 
face  of  an  incessant  fire  from  behind  rocks  and  crags 
that  covered  the  mountain  side  "  thicker  than  grave 
stones  in  a  city  cemetery."  Gates  pushed  forward  until 
he  reached  the  top  of  Round  Top ;  the  Forty-seventh, 
Alabama,  on  his  left,  also  reached  the  top,  where  both 
regiments  rested  a  short  time,  and  were  then  ordered 
forward,  and  went  down  the  north  side  of  the  mountain. 
Gates  saw  at  a  glance  the  great  value  of  the  position, 
but  was  obliged  to  obey  orders  and  move  on. 

With  the  whole  division  there,  some  higher  officer 
with  authority  to  act  would  have  quickly  placed  artillery 
on  its  summit,  and  the  next  day  from  that  point  Lee 
would  have  been  master  of  the  situation. 

The  Alabamians,  after  reaching  the  level  ground,  came 


GETTYSBURG.  283 

upon  a  second  line  behind  excellent  fortifications  of  ir 
regular  rocks,  from  which  was  poured  a  murderous  fire 
into  their  very  faces.  After  a  prolonged  and  most  cour 
ageous  contest,  these  brave  men  were  forced  back  and 
retreated  to  the  top  of  the  mountain,  losing  out  of  six 
hundred  and  forty-two  men  and  forty-two  officers  in 
the  Fifteenth  Alabama,  three  hundred  and  forty-three 
men  and  nineteen  officers,  killed  and  wounded.  When 
nearly  dark  they  fell  back  to  the  point  from  which  they 
advanced.  This  is  ample  proof  that  big  Round  Top  was 
not  occupied  by  Northern  troops  at  dark  on  the  even 
ing  of  the  2d.  Buford's  cavalry  from  that  flank  had  been 
sent  away  early  in  the  day  to  guard  supplies  at  West 
minster.  Over  the  splendid  scene  of  human  courage 
and  human  sacrifice  at  Gettysburg  there  arises  in  the 
South  an  apparition,  like  Banquo's  ghost  at  Macbeth's 
banquet,  which  says  the  battle  was  lost  to  the  Confed 
erates  because  "  some  one  had  blundered." 

Longstreet's  two  divisions  made  a  superb  record,  if 
late  when  they  began  to  fight.  The  attack  on  Sickles's 
corps  was  bravely  made  and  bravely  resisted  ;  Sickles's 
left  was  turned,  and  had  it  not  been  that  Warren  sent  a 
brigade  of  the  Fifth  Corps  and  battery  on  Little  Round 
Top,  that  most  important  point  might  have  been  seized, 
and,  if  held,  decided  the  battle.  For  its  possession  there 
was  furious  fighting.  Sickles  first,  and  then  Warren, 
Meade's  chief  engineer,  called  Meade's  attention  to 
Little  Round  Top,  and  Sykes's  column,  then  in  mo 
tion,  was  hurried  forward  to  save  it.  Sykes,  Meade  re 
ports,  was  fortunately  able  "  to  throw  a  strong  force  on 
Little  Round  Top,  where  a  most  desperate  and  bloody 
struggle  ensued  to  drive  the  enemy  from  it  and  secure 
our  foothold  upon  that  important  position."  Longstreet 
did  not  engage  Sickles  alone,  for  the  Fifth  Corps,  part 
of  the  Second,  two  regiments  of  the  Twelfth,  and  a 
brigade  of  the  First  Corps  re-enforced  him,  while  he  re 
ceived  assistance  from  Anderson's  division  of  Hill's 
corps,  which  went  into  action  with  the  left  of  McLaws's 
division.  Lee  intended  Ewell  to  make  a  diversion  in 
his  front  when  he  heard  the  guns  of  Longstreet,  to  be 
converted  into  a  genuine  attack  if  opportunity  offered ; 
but  Ewell's  infantry  were  under  fire  as  soon  as  the 


284  GENERAL   LEE. 

bugles  blew  the  advance,  so  a  demonstration  could  only 
be  made  by  artillery,  which  was  done. 

If  an  early  attack  on  the  Union  right  had  been  suc 
cessful,  and  Ewell,  in  consequence,  had  discovered  con 
fusion  in  his  front,  or  that  his  enemy  had  weakened  his 
line  in  his  front,  then  his  orders  required  him  to  at 
tack  because  the  "opportunity  offered";  but  Longstreet 
had  not  enveloped  the  enemy's  left,  and  the  Federal 
main  line  behind  Sickles's  outlying  corps  was  intact. 
After  the  partial  success  there,  Lee  directed  Ewell  to 
assault  with  his  whole  corps.  Johnson  on  the  slopes  of 
Gulp's  Hill  to  start  first,  then  Early  up  Cemetery  Hill, 
and  Rodes  to  advance  on  Early's  right. 

Johnson  had  in  front  a  rugged  and  rocky  mountain 
difficult  of  ascent — "  a  natural  fortification,  rendered 
more  formidable  by  deep  intrenchments  and  thick  abatis." 
His  left  brigade  carried  a  line  of  breastworks  of  the 
Twelfth  Corps,  which  (with  the  exception  of  Greene's 
brigade)  had  gone  to  support  Sickles  against  Long- 
street's  attack,  and  captured  prisoners  and  colors.  The 
firing  continued  until  late  at  night. 

Early  had  only  two  of  his  brigades  in  the  attack,  and 
they  made  a  brilliant  charge.  His  Louisianians  and 
North  Carolinians  continued  to  ascend  the  hill  in  the 
face  of  a  blaze  of  fire,  reached  and  entered  the  Union 
works,  and  while  fighting  for  the  battery  were  at 
tacked  by  Carroll's  brigade  and  three  regiments  of  fresh 
troops,  and  forced  to  retire,  but  not  in  disorder.  Had 
Rodes,  as  expected,  been  on  his  right,  with  Hill's  troops 
co-operating,  permanent  possession  of  the  line  might  have 
resulted,  for  Hancock  would  have  been  kept  busy  in 
his  own  front,  and  could  not  have  sent  troops  to  help 
Howard  to  hold  Gulp's  Hill. 

Rodes  reports :  u  He  had  commenced  to  make  the 
necessary  preparations,  but  he  had  to  draw  his  troops 
out  of  town  by  the  flank,  change  the  direction  of  the  line 
of  battle,  and  traverse  a  distance  of  twelve  or  fourteen 
hundred  yards,  while  Early  had  to  move  only  half  that 
distance,  without  change  of  front,  and  before  he  drove 
in  the  enemy's  skirmishers  General  Early  had  been 
compelled  to  withdraw."  Gregg,  with  a  division  of  Fed 
eral  cavalry  and  horse  artillery,  was  in  position  east 


GETTYSBURG.  285 

of  Slocum,  and  with  dismounted  cavalry  and  artillery 
made  Johnson  detach  Walker's  brigade  to  meet  him. 

When  night  stopped  Johnson  he  was  but  a  short  dis 
tance  from  Meade's  headquarters  and  the  Union  reserve 
artillery.  A  strong  night  attack  then  in  conjunction 
with  Stuart,  who  had  at  last  reached  the  battlefield, 
would  have  secured  the  Baltimore  pike  in  Meade's  rear, 
and  perhaps  been  productive  of  great  results,  all  of 
which  is  easy  to  see  now,  but  was  difficult  to  know  then. 

The  sentinel  stars  set  their  watch  over  a  ghastly 
field  of  dead,  dying,  and  wounded  soldiers,  lying  in  blue 
and  gray  heaps  everywhere.  Both  contestants  sought 
rest,  but  battlefields  are  not  pleasant  couches  when 
dyed  in  the  blood  of  numerous  brave  men,  who,  sleep 
ing  their  last  sleep,  lie  cold  and  quiet,  while  the  piteous 
moans  of  the  wounded  pierce  the  ear  and  reach  the 
heart.  The  armies  rested  without  pleasant  anticipations 
of  the  morrow,  knowing  well  that  at  the  roll  call  next 
evening  many  would  not  respond.  The  pickets  alone 
were  on  duty,  the  surgeons  alone  at  work. 

•When  Lee  summed  up  his  day's  work  he  found  on 
his  right  that  he  had  gained  possession  of  Devil's  Den 
and  its  woods,  the  ridge  on  the  Emmittsburg  road,  with 
its  fine  positions  for  artillery,  and  made  lodgments  on 
the  bases  of  the  Round  Tops.  On  his  left  he  had  occu 
pied  a  portion  of  the  Federal  works,  which  gave  him  an 
outlet  on  the  Baltimore  pike,  and  was  partially  success 
ful  against  the  Federal  center  by  penetrating  it  with 
Anderson's  division  of  Hill's  corps,  though  ultimately 
expelled.  His  cavalry  was  all  up  except  Jones's  and 
Robertson's  brigades ;  and  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  was  again  in 
the  saddle  near  him.  The  result  of  the  day's  operations, 
Lee  reported,  "  induced  the  belief  that  with  proper  con 
cert  of  action,  and  with  the  increased  support  that  the 
positions  gained  on  the  right  would  enable  the  artillery 
to  render  the  assaulting  columns,  we  should  ultimately 
succeed,  and  it  was  accordingly  determined  to  continue 
the  attack." 

His  opponent  was  doubtful  what  he  should  do  next 
day ;  his  efforts  to  prevent  an  entrance  into  his  lines 
had  been,  on  the  whole,  successful,  but  there  had  been 
moments  when  an  unwelcome  intrusion  seemed  inevi- 


286  GENERAL  LEE. 

table.  So  he  called  another  council  of  war  at  night,  hav 
ing  called  one  before  the  fighting  began.  In  a  little 
front  room  not  twelve  feet  square  in  the  Liester  House 
his  commanders  assembled.  "  Should  the  army  attack 
or  wait  the  attack  of  the  enemy  ? "  was  the  written  ques 
tion  they  were  required  to  answer ;  and  they  voted — as 
they  should  have  done,  being  in  superior  position,  with 
interior  lines — to  wait,  as  Lee  had  done  at  Fredericks- 
burg,  for  another  attack,  and  found  him  more  accommo 
dating  than  Burnside. 

General  Lee  had  a  difficult  task :  the  lines  of  his 
enemy  had  grown  stronger  during  the  night;  Slocum, 
Howard,  Newton  (in  Reynolds's  place),  Hancock,  Sickles, 
Sykes,  and  Sedgwick's  troops  were  all  before  him,  and 
on  his  right  and  left  flank  was  a  division  of  cavalry  un 
der  Gregg  and  Kilpatrick  respectively.  The  Union 
flanks,  five  miles  apart  on  Gulp's  Hill  and  the  Round 
Tops,  were  almost  impregnable  and  difficult  to  turn. 
Lee's  strategy  at  Chancellorsville  was  bold,  but  his  de 
termination  to  assault  the  left  center  of  the  Union  army 
with  his  right  corps  and  its  supports  was  consummate 
daring.  "  Longstreet,  re-enforced  by  Pickett's  three  bri 
gades,  which  arrived  near  the  battlefield  during  the 
afternoon  of  the  2d,  was  ordered  to  attack  next  morn 
ing,"  said  Lee,  "and  General  Ewell  was  directed  to  as 
sail  the  enemy's  right  at  the  same  time."  During  the 
night  General  Johnson  was  re-enforced  by  two  brigades 
from  Rodes  and  one  from  Early. 

"  General  Longstreet's  dispositions  were  not  com 
pleted  as  early  as  was  expected,"  continues  Lee,  and 
before  he  could  notify  Ewell  the  enemy  attacked  John 
son,  was  repulsed,  and  Johnson,  thinking  the  fighting  was 
going  on  elsewhere,  attacked  in  his  turn  and  forced  the 
Union  troops  to  abandon  part  of  their  intrenchmentg, 
but  "  after  a  gallant  and  prolonged  struggle  "  was  not 
able  to  carry  the  strongly  fortified  crest  of  the  hill. 
"  The  projected  attack  on  the  enemy's  left  not  having 
been  made,"  Lee  states,  "  he  was  enabled  to  hold  his 
right  with  a  force  largely  superior  to  that  of  General 
Johnson,  and  finally  to  threaten  his  flank  and  rear,  ren 
dering  it  necessary  for  him  to  retire  to  his  original  posi 
tion  about  i  P.  M."  The  delay  to  attack  on  the  right 


GETTYSBURG.  287 

was  but  a  repetition  of  the  preceding  day's  tactics.  It 
was  impossible  to  move  from  different  flanks  a  slow  offi 
cer  and  a  prompt  one  "  at  the  same  time."  Longstreet 
was  delayed,  General  Lee's  report  tells  us,  by  a  force 
occupying  the  high  rocky  hills*  on  the  enemy's  extreme 
left  from  which  his  troops  could  be  attacked  in  reverse 
as  they  advanced,  and  he  deemed  it  necessary  to  defend 
his  flank  and  rear  with  the  divisions  of  Hood  and  Mc- 
Laws.  "  He  was  therefore  re-enforced  by  Heth's  divi 
sion  and  two  brigades  of  Fender's  (Hill's  corps),  to  the 
command  of  which  Major-General  Trimble  was  as 
signed,  and  General  Hill  was  ordered  to  afford  General 
Longstreet  further  assistance  if  requested,  and  avail 
himself  of  any  success  that  might  be  gained." 

Meade  had  sent  Kilpatrick's  division  of  cavalry — two 
brigades — under  Merritt  and  Farnsworth,  to  his  left ;  they 
arrived  there  about  12  M.,  and  may  have  looked,  mounted 
and  dismounted,  formidable  on  Longstreet's  flank,  but 
were  not.  Nothing  could  be  gained  by  charging  Long- 
street's  infantry  in  the  position  they  held,  and  later  the 
same  day,  when  it  was  attempted,  the  cavalry  were 
easily  driven  off  and  held  at  bay  by  two  or  three  regi 
ments  of  Law's  brigade  on  the  extreme  right.  Cavalry 
charges  against  infantry  can  not  be  made  as  formerly, 
because  the  improved  range  and  rapidity  of  fire  of  can 
non  and  small  arms  mow  them  down  before  they  get  to 
close  quarters. 

The  Federal  cavalry  rendered  the  greatest  assistance, 
however,  to  Meade,  and  his  thanks  are  due  to  them  for 
keeping  out  of  the  fight  the  fine  infantry  divisions  of 
Hood  and  McLaws.  The  assaulting  column  was  at  last 
formed :  Pickett's  division  of  three  brigades,  five  thou 
sand  men,  was  formed  in  two  lines,  Kemper  on  the 
right,  Garnett  on  his  left,  and  Armistead  in  the  rear. 
Hill's  troops — six  small  brigades — having  passed  through 
the  fiery  furnace  of  two  days'  battles,  did  not  number 
seven  thousand  men ;  they  were  sent  to  support  Long- 
street's  corps,  but,  curiously,  were  placed  in  an  attack 
ing  column  that  had  no  support. 

Four  brigades — Pettigrew's,  Davis's  (a  nephew  of  the 

*  There  were  none  except  on  the  Federal  main  line. 


288  GENERAL  LEE. 

Southern  President),  Brockenbrough's,  and  Archer's  (of 
Heth's  division,  under  that  fine  officer  Pettigrew,  Heth 
having  been  wounded  the  day  before) — were  placed  on 
Pickett's  left,  and  two,  Lane's  and  Scales's,  about  twenty- 
five  hundred  men  of  Pender's  division,  under  Trimble, 
in  a  second  line,  while  Wilcox's  was  to  march  on  the  ex 
treme  right  to  protect  their  flank.  Thirteen  thousand 
five  hundred,  or  at  most  fourteen  thousand  troops,  had 
been  massed  to  attack  an  army,  but  with  no  more  hope 
of  success  than  had  the  Spartans  at  Thermopylae,  the 
English  cavalry  at  Balaklava,  or  the  "  Old  Guard  "  of 
the  French  at  Waterloo. 

Pickett's  division  formed  at  10.30  A.  M.  in  line  nearly 
parallel  and  in  rear  of  the  rise  upon  which  runs  the 
Emmittsburg  road,  but  rather  diagonally  to  the  Union 
position  at  the  contemplated  point  of  attack.  Kemper's 
right  was  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty  yards 
distant  from  it,  while  Pettigrew  prolonged  the  line  some 
what  en  echelon.  Pickett's  first  formation  was  in  one 
line,  Armistead,  Garnett,  and  Kemper  from  left  to  right. 
Garnett's  troops  were  twenty  yards  only  in  rear  of  Wil 
cox's  brigade  of  Anderson's  division,  which  had  been 
sent  out  to  the  front  between  daylight  and  sunrise  to 
protect  guns  then  being  put  in  position  by  Colonel  E.  P. 
Alexander,  of  the  artillery.  Wilcox  states  that  the  four 
brigade  commanders  were  together  nearly  all  the  time 
before  the  artillery  opened  "  in  the  yard  near  the  Span- 
gler  House,"  and  that  there  was  no  officer  present  in 
that  open  field  at  any  time  higher  in  rank  than  a  brigade 
general,  which  differs  with  an  account  by  the  right 
corps  commander,  who  has  said  that  Lee  rode  with  him 
"  twice  over  the  line  to  see  that  everything  was  arranged 
according  to  his  wishes,  and  that  there  was  no  room  for 
a  misconstruction  of  his  orders."  Lee's  object  was  to 
cut  the  Federal  army  at  its  left  center  as  Marlborough 
split  that  of  Vendome  in  the  same  month  one  hundred  and 
fifty-five  years  before,  thinking  perhaps  its  right  wing 
could  be  destroyed  first,  or  driven  so  far  out  of  the  way 
that  he  could  turn  in  whole  or  part  against  the  left  wing 
before  it  could  disentangle  itself  from  the  rocks  and 
woods  of  the  Round  Tops. 

It  is  fortunate  three  of  General  Lee's  trusted  staff 


GETTYSBURG.  289 

officers — Taylor,  Venable,  and  Long — have  recorded 
that  the  plan  of  assault  involved  an  attack  by  Long- 
street's  whole  corps,  supported  by  one  half  of  Hill's, 
or  all  of  it  if  he  called  for  it,  or  upon  the  bright 
shield  of  the  Southern  chieftain  there  might  have  been 
a  lasting  blot.  Taylor,  the  adjutant  general  of  the 
army,  says  it  was  originally  intended  to  make  the  at 
tack  with  Hood  and  McLaws,  re-enforced  by  Pickett, 
and  it  was  only  because  of  the  apprehensions  of  General 
Longstreet  that  his  corps  was  not  strong  enough  that 
General  Hill  was  called  on  to  support  him ;  and  Hill, 
in  an  official  report,  states  that  his  troops  were  sent  to 
Longstreet  "  as  a  support  to  his  corps."  Lee  "  rode  along 
a  portion  of  the  line  held  by  A.  P;  Hill's  corps,  and 
finally  took  a  position  about  the  Confederate  center  on 
an  elevated  point,  from  which  he  could  survey  the  field 
and  watch  the  result  of  the  movement."  Long  says 
the  order  for  the  assault  by  the  whole  corps  was  given 
verbally  by  General  Lee  in  his  presence  and  that  of 
Major  Venable  and  other  officers  of  the  army.*  Vena- 
able  states  that  he  heard  the  orders  given  to  support  Pick- 
ett's  attack  by  McLaws  and  Hood,  and  that  when  he 
called  General  Lee's  attention  to  it  afterward  he  said : 
"  I  know  it,  I  know  it." 

A  consummate  master  of  war  such  as  Lee  would 
not  drive  en  masse  a  column  of  fourteen  thousand  men 
across  an  open  terrene  thirteen  or  fourteen  hundred 
yards,  nearly  every  foot  of  it  under  a  concentrated  and 
converging  fire  of  artillery,  to  attack  an  army,  on  forti 
fied  heights,  of  one  hundred  thousand,  less  its  two  days' 
losses,  and  give  his  entering  wedge  no  support !  Why, 
if  every  man  in  that  assault  had  been  bullet  proof,  and 
if  the  whole  of  those  fourteen  thousand  splendid  troops 
had  arrived  unharmed  on  Cemetery  Ridge,  what  could 
have  been  accomplished  ?  Not  being  able  to  kill  them, 
there  would  have  been  time  for  the  Federals  to  have 
seized,  tied,  and  taken  them  off  in  wagons,  before  their 
supports  could  have  reached  them.  Amid  the  fire  and 
smoke  of  this  false  move  these  troops  did  not  know 
"some  one  had  blundered,"  but  had  a  right  to  feel  that 

*  Memoirs  of  Robert  E.  Lee,  by  Long,  p.  294. 


290 


GENERAL  LEE. 


the  movement  had  been  well  considered,  and  ordered 
because  it  had  elements  of  success.  But  there  was  no 
chance  to  write  victory  upon  their  fluttering  flags.  The 
pages  of  .history  which  record  the  magnificent  exhibition 
of  human  courage  drip  with  the  useless  sacrifice  of  blood. 

At  i  P.  M.  on  July  3,  1863,  two  signal  guns  were  fired 
by  the  Washington  Artillery,  and  instantly  the  brazen 
throats  of  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  cannon  barked 
defiance  at  the  grim,  blue  battle  line  in  the  distance. 
Two  hours  before,  Colonel  E.  P.  Alexander,  of  Long- 
street's  artillery,  reported  he  was  ready  to  open  fire. 
Seventy-five  guns  were  in  position  from  the  peach  or 
chard  on  the  right  to  the  woods  on  the  left,  where  the 
Third  Corps  rested,  and  near  by,  the  other  corps  had  as 
many  more,  under  R.  L.  Walker.  Salvos  by  battery 
were  practiced,  to  secure  greater  deliberation  and  power. 
The  Union  batteries,  under  the  alert  and  able  chief  of 
artillery,  Hunt,  were  ready  to  return  the  greeting  with 
seventy-seven  guns  [Meade  had  two  hundred  and  twelve 
guns  with  his  seven  infantry  corps,  fifty  with  the  cav 
alry,  and  one  hundred  and  eight  in  reserve — three  hun 
dred  and  seventy  in  all],  which  were  placed  on  the  Sec 
ond  Corps  line  within  the  space  of  a  mile.  It  was  a  grand 
spectacle,  never  before  witnessed  on  this  continent. 
Hunt  reported  he  could  see  "  from  Cemetery  Hill  the 
Southern  guns  stretched,  apparently  in  one  unbroken 
mass,  from  opposite  the  town  to  the  peach  orchard,  the 
ridges  of  which  were  planted  thick  with  cannon.  It 
was  a  cannonade  to  crush  our  batteries  and  shake  our 
infantry  previous  to  an  assault."  Most  of  the  projectiles, 
he  states,  passed  overhead  and  swept  the  ground  in  his 
rear.  The  Union  batteries  along  the  Second  Corps 
front  suffered  heavily,  however ;  wounded  soldiers,  dead 
and  dying  horses,  and  exploded  caissons  were  on  every 
side.  Meade's  headquarters,  a  little  to  the  rear,  had 
been  plowed  up  by  the  swift-flying  missiles,  and  had 
been  abandoned,  forcing  Meade  to  go  over  to  Powers 
Hill  and  seek  shelter  at  Slocum's  headquarters.  The 
horses  of  many  of  his  staff  were  killed.  This  sublime 
exhibition,  with  its  great  roar,  throwing  out  huge  black 
smoke  clouds,  was  protracted  for  nearly  two  hours. 

For  waste  of  ammunition  on  both  sides  without  com- 


GETTYSBURG.  291 

pensating  results  it  stands  unequaled,  and  towers  in  un 
rivaled  superiority  above  all  similar  displays.  One  hun 
dred  and  fifty  Southern  guns  raining  metallic  tons  on 
the  Northern  infantry  for  two  hours  ought  to  have  made 
a  desert  of  their  lines  wide  and  broad  enough  to  admit 
an  army,  but  three  days'  work  on  a  strong,  natural,  and 
defensive  ridge  had  placed  the  infantry  under  cover, 
and  resting  securely,  they  were  not  "  shaken,"  as  those 
who  participated  in  the  charging  column  can  testify. 
Hunt,  with  a  soldier's  instinct,  knew  so  much  noise  meant 
a  fight  with  other  arms.  Anticipating  Meade's  orders, 
he  gave  instructions  to  cease  firing,  to  let  his  guns  cool, 
ran  up  fresh  batteries,  replenished  his  limber  chests 
and  caissons,  and  "  cleared  decks  "  for  the  real  work  to 
follow.  Amid  the  clamor  produced  by  fiery  flashes 
from  nearly  three  hundred  guns,  the  gray  heroes  select 
ed  to  destroy  an  army  lay  close  under  the  cover  of  a 
friendly  ridge. 

Longstreet  was  disappointed  when  he  received  the 
order  to  make  this  attack,  and  wanted  to  move  to  the 
Federal  left,  but  Lee  knew  his  relations  with  Meade 
had  been  too  intimate  during  the  last  two  days  and  the 
relative  hosts  too  close  for  such  tactical  folly.  His 
right  corps  chief  says  he  took  Pickett,  who  was  to  com 
mand  the  charge,  to  the  crest  of  Seminary  Ridge,  point 
ed  out  the  direction  to  be  taken  and  the  point  to  be 
assaulted,  that  he  "  could  see  the  desperate  and  hopeless 
nature  of  the  charge  and  the  cruel  slaughter  it  would 
cause,"  and  that  his  "  heart  was  heavy  "  when  he  left 
Pickett;  that  his  objections  to  Pickett's  battle  had  been 
overruled,  and  that  the  day  was  one  of  the  saddest  of 
his  life,  for  he  foresaw  what  his  men  would  meet,  and 
would  gladly  have  given  up  his  position  rather  than 
share  in  the  responsibilities  of  that  day.  Lee,  au  con- 
traire,  was  impatiently  waiting  to  see  Longstreet's  corps 
and  one  half  of  Hill's,  or,  if  necessary,  all  of  it,  break, 
with  the  force  of  the  tempest  which  strands  navies, 
through  the  hostile  lines,  if  the  testimony  of  his  staff 
officers  is  worthy  of  credence. 

The  details  of  the  attack  were  properly  left  to  the 
officer  who  was  to  make  it.  Lee  did  not  care  whether 
Hood  and  McLaws  attacked,  re-enforced  by  Pickett  and 


292  GENERAL   LEE. 

Hill's  troops,  as  at  first  intended,  or  whether  Pickett 
led  and  the  remainder  followed  ;  but  he  wanted  the 
muskets  numerous  enough  to  plant  the  victory  upon  his 
standards.  To  fight  to  a  finish  a  protracted  struggle 
was  a  bold  conception  ;  to  give  in  audacious  form  a  coup 
de  grace  to  his  enemy  was  the  acme  of  daring..  But  Lee, 
calm,  quiet,  conservative,  and  self-controlled,  was  fear 
less  when  occasion  demanded,  as  a  study  of  his  cam 
paigns  will  demonstrate. 

Colonel  E.  P.  Alexander,  the  commander  of  a  bat 
talion  of  artillery  of  a  division  of  the  First  Corps,  but 
whose  functions  had  been  enlarged  that  day,  a  well- 
equipped,  intelligent,  and  active  officer,  was  directed  by 
Longstreet  to  station  himself  at  a  point  where  he  could 
observe  the  effect  of  the  great  cannonade;  and  when  he 
discovered  the  Federal  batteries  crippled  or  silenced  to 
send  word  to  Pickett,  who,  upon  receipt  of  such  notice,  was 
to  move  forward.  At  twelve  o'clock  Alexander,  with  a 
courier  of  Pickett's,  stood  on  a  favorable  spot  on  the 
left  side  of  his  guns,  and  was  loaded,  like  them,  with  a 
terrible  responsibility.  In  a  short  time  a  note  from 
Longstreet  told  him  if  the  artillery  fire  did  not  drive  off 
the  enemy  or  greatly  demoralize  them,  he  would  "pre 
fer  he  should  not  advise  Pickett  to  make  the  charge," 
that  he  relied  a  great  deal  on  his  good  judgment  to  de 
termine  the  matter,  and  expected  him  to  let  Pickett 
know  when  the  moment  arrived.  That  the  responsibil 
ity  and  fate  of  a  great  battle  should  be  passed  over  to 
a  lieutenant  colonel  of  artillery,  however  meritorious  he 
might  be,  is,  and  always  will  be,  a  subject  of  grave  com 
ment. 

Alexander  replied  that  he  could  only  judge  of  the 
effect  of  the  enemy's  fire  by  the  return  fire,  that  his  in 
fantry  was  but  little  exposed  to  view,  and  that  if  there 
was  any  alteration  to  this  attack  it  should  be  carefully 
considered  before  opening  fire,  for  it  would  take  all  the 
artillery  ammunition  left  to  test  this  one,  and  leave 
none  for  another  effort.  To  this  Longstreet  responded 
in  another  note  that  "  the  intention  is  to  advance  the 
infantry  if  the  artillery  has  the  desired  effect  of  driving 
the  enemy  off,  or  the  effect  is  such  as  to  warrant  us  in 
making  the  attack  ;  when  the  moment  arrives,  advise 


GETTYSBURG. 


293 


General  Pickett,  and  of  course  advance  such  artillery  as 
you  can  use  in  aiding  the  attack." 

With  Alexander  at  the  time  was  General  Wright,  of 
Georgia,  commanding  a  brigade  in  Anderson's  division 
of  Hill's  corps,  who  practically  told  him  to  "brace  up," 
that  "  it  is  not  so  hard  to  go  there  as  it  looks.  I  was 
nearly  there  with  my  brigade  yesterday.  The  trouble 
is  to  stay.  The  whole  Yankee  army  is  there  in  a 
bunch."  He  was  further  stiffened  by  hearing  "  a  camp 
rumor  that  General  Lee  had  said  he  was  going  to  send 
every  man  he  had  upon  that  hill."  Afterward  it  occurred 
to  him  that  he  would  ride  over  and  see  Pickett  and  feel 
his  pulse,  as  it  were,  and  how  he  felt  about  the  charge. 
He  ascertained  that  Pickett  "  seemed  very  sanguine,  and 
thought  himself  in  luck  to  have  the  chance." 

By  this  time  Alexander  had  risen  to  the  height  of 
the  great  occasion,  and  felt  that  he  could  not  let  the 
attack  suffer  through  indecision  on  his  part.  "General," 
he  then  wrote  to  Longstreet,  "  when  our  artillery  fire  is 
at  its  best  I  shall  order  Pickett  to  charge."  It  was  a 
fearful  order  for  a  subaltern  to  give,  but  what  could  he 
do  ?  Pendleton,  the  chief  of  artillery  of  the  army, 
offered  him  nine  howitzers  from  Hill's  corps,  and  Alex 
ander  put  them  in  a  safe  place,  to  wait  until  he  sent 
for  them,  intending  to  take  these  guns  in  advance  of 
Pickett's  infantry,  nearly  to  musket  range;  but  they 
could  not  be  found  when  he  wanted  them. 

General  Pendleton  had  sent  for  a  part  of  them,  think 
ing  Alexander  would  not  need  them ;  and  those  remain 
ing  had  moved  to  another  place,  and  his  courier  did 
not  find  them.  At  first  Alexander  thought  he  would 
turn  the  infantry  loose  in  twenty  minutes  after  the  fir 
ing  began ;  but  when  he  looked  at  the  enemy's  batter 
ies  and  knew  his  infantry  was  protected  from  the  artil 
lery  by  stone  walls  and  swells  of  ground,  "  it  seemed 
madness  to  launch  men  into  that  fire  with  three  quarters 
of  a  mile  to  go  at  midday  under  a  July  sun,"  and  he 
"could  not  bring  himself  to  give  the  word."  Then  he 
wrote  Pickett,  who  was  in  view  and  in  rear  of  his  ob 
servation  point :  "  If  you  are  coming  at  all  you  must 
come  at  once,  or  I  can  not  give  you  proper  support; 
but  the  enemy's  fire  has  not  slackened." 

20 


294 


GENERAL   LEE. 


Two  minutes  afterward  the  Federal  fire  ceased,  and 
some  of  his  guns  limbered  up  and  vacated  their  posi 
tions.  Then  he  wrote  to  Pickett,  "  For  God's  sake,  come 
quick."  Pickett  had  taken  his  first  note  to  Longstreet 
and  asked  him  if  the  time  for  his  advance  had  come,  and 
Longstreet  bowed  his  assent;  he  could  not  speak,  be 
cause  he  says  he  was  convinced  that  Pickett  was  going 
to  lead  his  troops  to  useless  slaughter.  Longstreet  then 
rode  to  Alexander's  position,  and,  upon  being  told  the 
artillery  ammunition  might  not  hold  out,  directed  Alex 
ander  to  stop  Pickett  and  replenish  it;  but  was  told 
there  "  was  very  little  to  replenish  with,"  and  that  the 
enemy  would  recover  from  the  effect  of  the  fire  if  there 
was  further  delay,  and  just  then,  says  he,  Pickett  swept 
out  and  showed  the  full  length  of  the  gray  ranks  and 
shining  bayonets — as  grand  a  sight  as  ever  man  looked 
on — and  that  on  the  left  Pettigrew  stretched  farther  than 
he  could  see.  General  Garnett,  just  out  of  the  sick  ambu 
lance  and  buttoned  up  in  an  old  blue  overcoat,  riding  at 
the  head  of  his  brigade,  passed  just  then,  and  saluted 
Longstreet.  Alexander  had  served  with  him  on  the 
Plains  before  the  war,  and  they  "  wished  each  other  luck 
and  a  good-by  " — a  last  farewell  for  Garnett.  Alexan 
der  followed  Pickett  with  eighteen  of  his  guns  which 
had  most  ammunition,  whose  fire  was  very  effective 
against  Stanard's  Vermont  troops.  The  small  thunder 
bolt  had  been  discharged,  and  the  red-crested  wave  of 
assault  rolled  forward,  destined  to  break  into  fragments 
on  the  murderous  rocks  athwart  its  path. 

At  the  word  of  command,  in  compact  form,  with  fly 
ing  banners  and  brave  hearts,  the  Southern  column 
sprang  to  the  attack.  It  was  a  magnificent  and  thrilling 
spectacle.  "  It  is  well  war  is  so  terrible,"  said  Lee  at 
Fredericksburg  ;  "  we  should  grow  too  fond  of  it."  No 
such  inspiring  sight  was  ever  witnessed  in  this  country. 
Two  long  lines  of  angry  men,  who  for  two  days  had 
been  trying  to  destroy  each  other,  lay  writhin  cannon 
range.  Their  mutual  roar  of  defiance  had  ceased  when 
suddenly  there  swept  into  the  intermediate  space  nine 
small  brigades  of  infantry,  whose  "  tattered  uniforms 
and  bright  muskets,"  as  the  smoke  of  the  battle  lifted, 
were  plainly  in  view  of  both. 


GETTYSBURG.  295 

The  divisions  of  Hood  and  McLaws,  one  half  of  Hill's 
corps,  and  the  whole  of  Ewell's  stood  like  the  fixed  stars 
in  the  heavens  as  their  comrades  marched  into  the  "  jaws 
of  death."  Over  the  ridge,  then  a  slight  wheel  to  the 
left,  and  down  the  slope  with  confident  step  they  ad~ 
vanced.  The  Codori  farm  building  had  been  passed, 
and  the  guides  instructed  to  take  a  directing  point  for 
the  Union  left  center  held  by  the  Second  Corps,  expos* 
ing  by  the  move  their  right  flank  to  an  enfilade  fire  from 
the  batteries  near  and  on  little  Round  Top. 

In  an  instant  the  masses  in  their  front  were  preparing 
for  the  shock  of  battle.  "  Here  they  come  !  Here  they 
come  !  Here  comes  the  infantry  !  "  was  heard  on  every 
side.  At  an  average  of  eleven  hundred  yards  the  Union 
batteries  began  to  open,  and  solid  shot  first  tore 
through  their  ranks,  but  with  no  more  effect  than  firing 
a  pistol  at  the  rock  of  Gibraltar.  The  skirmish  lines, 
composed  of  the  Sixteenth  Vermont  and  One  Hun 
dred  and  Sixty-sixth  Pennsylvania,  and  parts  of  Hall's 
brigade,  were  next  encountered  and  brushed  from 
their  front,  as  the  hurricane  sweeps  the  breast  of  the 
mountain. 

Screaming  shells  broke  in  front,  rear,  on  both  sides, 
and  among  them  ;  but  the  devoted  band,  with  their  ob 
jective  point  steadily  in  view,  kept  step  to  their  music. 
The  space  between  them  and  the  Federal  lines  grew 
rapidly  less,  and  soon  they  were  in  the  "mouth  of  hell " 
within  range  of  the  well-protected  infantry,  and  then 
there  came  a  storm  of  bullets  on  every  side,  before 
which  men  dropped  in  their  ranks  as  ripe  fruit  from  a 
shaken  tree.  Still  they  closed  the  gaps  and  pressed  for 
ward,  though  canister  was  now  raining  on  flanks  and 
front  with  a  terrible  destructive  fire.  Brave  men  along 
the  Union  line  could  scarcely  refrain  from  cheering  at 
the  perfect  order  and  splendid  courage  exhibited  by  the 
Southern  soldiers  as  they  staggered  on  amid  death  and 
destruction,  like  a  great  pugilist,  whose  fast-failing 
strength  denotes  the  loss  of  the  contest,  but  resolves  to 
stand  in  front  of  his  antagonist  to  the  last.  What  was 
left  of  the  right  of  the  assaulting  troops  struck  the  por 
tion  of  the  Federal  lines  held  by  Webb's  brigade,  Sec 
ond  Corps,  and  from  the  stone  wall  drove  two  Pennsyl- 
20 


296  GENERAL   LEE. 

vania  regiments,  capturing  the  three  guns  in  charge  of 
Lieutenant  A.  H.  Gushing  and  mortally  wounding  this 
brave  young  officer,  who  had  been  fighting  for  an  hour 
and  a  half  after  being  wounded  in  both  thighs  by  the 
cannonade. 

The  Confederate  advance  had  been  thrust  into  the 
Federal  works,  and  from  the  top  of  the  stone  wall  their 
battle  flags  were  victoriously  flying ;  the  wedge  had  en 
tered,  but  the  power  to  drive  it  through  was  nearly  a 
mile  distant  and  motionless.  What  could  this  handful 
of  heroes  accomplish  ?  A  second  line  and  a  second 
stone  wall  was  in  front  of  them,  while  from  every  side 
hostile  regiments  rushed  to  overwhelm  them.  Their 
three  brigade  commanders  had  fallen  as  the  brave  fall, 
every  field  officer,  except  one,  killed  or  wounded,  while 
their  route  was  red  with  the  blood  of  their  dead  and 
dying.  Kemper  had  been  shot  down,  Garnett  killed  with 
in  twenty-five  yards  of  the  stone  wall,  while  Armistead 
and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Martin,  of  the  Fifty-third  Vir 
ginia,  fell  thirty-three  yards  beyond  Webb's  line,  mov 
ing  on  with  a  few  courageous  followers  to  attack  the 
second  line,  which  had  been  hurriedly  formed.  Brave 
old  Armistead's  behavior  deserves  more  than  a  passing 
word.  When  the  troops  halted  at  the  captured  line,  see 
ing  still  another  force  in  his  front,  he  drew  his  sword 
for  the  first  time  and  placed  his  hat  on  its  point,  so  that 
his  men  could  see  it  through  the  dense  smoke  of  the  un 
equal  combat,  and  sprang  over  the  wall,  crying:  "  Boys, 
we  must  use  the  cold  steel.  Who  will  follow  me?"  It 
is  said  that  when  the  head  of  what  had  been  so  grand 
an  attack  got  within  a  few  yards  of  the  second  defensive 
line  it  consisted  of  Armistead,  his  lieutenant,  Colonel 
Martin,  and  five  men ;  with  the  destruction  of  the  head 
the  body  perished,  and  one  half  of  those  who  crossed 
the  road  and  followed  Armistead  were  killed.  To  the 
left  of  Pickett  the  four  brigades  under  Pettigrew  and 
the  two  under  Trimble  charged.  Archer's  brigade,  un 
der  Colonel  B.  D.  Fry,  of  the  Thirteenth  Alabama,  was 
on  the  right  and  was  the  directing  brigade  of  the  whole 
force.  They  made  their  assault  in  front  of  Hays'sand 
Gibbon's  division,  Second  Corps,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Ziegler's  Grove.  "  Stormed  at  with  shot  and  shell,"  this 


GETTYSBURG.  297 

column  moved  steadily  on,  closing  up  the  gaps  made 
and  preserving  the  alignment. 

"  They  moved  up  splendidly,"  wrote  a  Northern 
officer,  "  deploying  as  they  crossed  the  long  sloping 
interval.  The  front  of  the  column  was  nearly  up  the 
slope  and  within  a  few  yards  of  the  Second  Corps's 
front  and  its  batteries,  when  suddenly  a  terrific  fire 
from  every  available  gun  on  Cemetery  Ridge  burst 
upon  them.  Their  graceful  lines  underwent  an  instan 
taneous  transformation  in  a  dense  cloud  of  smoke  and 
dust ;  arms,  heads,  blankets,  guns,  and  knapsacks  were 
tossed  in  the  air,  and  the  moan  from  the  battlefield 
was  heard  amid  the  storm  of  battle."  Sheets  of  missiles 
flew  through  what  seemed  a  moving  mass  of  smoke, 
human  valor  was  powerless,  and  the  death-dealing  guns 
were  everywhere  throwing  blazing  projectiles  in  their 
very  faces.  No  troops  could  advance  and  live.  The 
fiery  onslaught  was  repulsed  as  Pickett's  division  had 
been,  and  then  the  survivors  of  both  came  back  to  their 
former  positions,  but  not  one  half  of  the  fourteen  thou 
sand.  The  famous  charge  was  over. 

Pickett's  column  had  gone  to  the  front  four  hundred 
yards,  when  Wilcox,  whose  brigade  had  not  formed  part 
of  the  attacking  column,  was  ordered  by  Longstreet  to 
advance  in  rear  of  Pickett's  right.  His  twelve  hundred 
Alabamans  moved  promptly,  but  were  soon  subjected 
to  a  concentrated  fire  from  the  artillery  of  the  Feder 
als  ;  the  distance  between  his  left  and  the  smoke-envel 
oped  force  which  had  preceded  them  increased ;  his 
own  flank  was  threatened ;  he  could  not  see,  he  reports, 
what  had  become  of  Pickett,  so  halted  and  returned, 
losing  two  hundred  and  four  killed,  wounded,  and  miss 
ing  of  his  five  regiments. 

Lee  was  bitterly  disappointed  at  the  day's  results. 
He  had  confidently  expected  to  hurl  at  least  one  half 
of  his  army  on  his  enemy,  cut  him  in  two,  and  then 
with  a  portion  of  it  wheel  to  the  left,  annihilate  Meade's 
right,  and  before  troops  of  his  left  could  recover  and 
unite  with  the  remainder  of  the  army  he  proposed  to 
give  support  to  that  portion  of  the  attacking  column 
holding  them  at  bay.  He  was  playing  for  big  stakes  and 
a  decisive  victory,  which  would  bring  in  its  train  peace 


298  GENERAL   LEE. 

to  his  people  and  success  to  his  cause.  Reasoning, 
doubtless,  that  the  tendency  of  separated  wings  of  an 
army  is  to  seek  a  reunion  in  the  rear,  he  had  thrown 
J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  with  four  brigades  of  cavalry  and  three 
batteries  of  horse  artillery,  around  the  Union  right  rear, 
so  as  to  be  in  position  to  reach  his  opponent's  lines  of 
communication  when  driven  from  Cemetery  Heights. 
Between  Stuart  and  the  Baltimore  pike,  two  and  a  half 
miles  off,  directly  in  the  rear  of  General  Meade's  cen 
ter  were  three  brigades  of  Union  cavalry,  some  five  or 
six  thousand  troops,  with  horse  batteries,  under  General 
Gregg,  both  commands  being  between  the  York  and 
Hanover  roads. 

Stuart  had  hardly  reached  the  point  where  he  pro 
posed  to  rest  and  await  developments  before  he  saw, 
advancing  to  his  front,  a  heavy  line  of  dismounted 
sharpshooters,  and  a  cavalry  combat  followed,  credit 
able  to  the  courage  and  skill  of  the  contestants. 
Charges  and  countercharges  were  made  on  both  sides, 
and  in  the  resulting  mette  there  was  hand-to-hand  fight 
ing,  during  which  the  brave  and  distinguished  General 
Wade  Hampton  was  seriously  wounded  twice.  Both 
sides  claim  a  victory,  but  neither  were  driven  beyond  the 
positions  originally  occupied,  to  which  they  mutually 
retired  from  a  midway  charging  ground  —  Stuart  to 
watch  his  opportunity  if  Pickett  was  successful,  as  first 
contemplated;  Gregg  to  watch  Stuart.  One  of  Stuart's 
brigades,  under  Jenkins,  had  only  ten  rounds  of  ammu 
nition,  and  was  therefore  ineffective.  The  great  battle 
of  Gettysburg  should  be  an  object  lesson  to  students  of 
military  science — first,  as  illustrating  the  difficulty  of 
carrying  strong  positions  behind  which  sheltered  troops 
shoot  with  the  latest  improved  guns  ;  second,  the  great 
advantage  of  celerity  of  execution  after  carefully  con 
sidered  plans  have  matured — a  qualification  so  conspicu 
ous  in  the  careers  of  Napoleon  and  Stonewall  Jackson. 

"This  has  been  a  sad  day  to  us,"  said  Lee,  "but  we 
can  not  always  expect  to  win  victories."  It  was  a  sad 
day  for  the  South,  for  at  that  time  it  was  "within  a 
stone's  throw  of  peace."  Fate  was  against  Lee ;  the 
high-water  mark  of  Southern  independence  had  been 
reached,  and  from  that  hour  it  began  to  ebb  from  the 


GETTYSBURG. 


299 


mountains  of  Pennsylvania  until  lost  in  the  hills  of 
Appomattox.  "  It  is  all  my  fault,"  Lee  exclaimed,  and 
proceeded  in  person  to  rally  and  reform  his  shattered 
troops.  "  There  was  much  less  noise,  fuss,  or  confusion 
of  orders  than  at  any  ordinary  field  day ;  the  men  were 
brought  up  in  detachments,  quietly  and  coolly,"  said  an 
English  colonel  who  rode  by  his  side. 

With  that  wonderful  magnanimity  which  Lee  so 
fully  possessed  he  took  all  the  responsibility  on  his  own 
broad  shoulders,  and  some  of  it  must  be  put  there.  First, 
the  discretion  allowed,  which  separated  him  from  his 
cavalry ;  second,  the  omission  of  positive  orders  to 
Ewell  to  advance  on  the  evening  of  the  ist,*  and  the 
failure  to  replace  an  officer  who  opposed  his  plans  with 
one  who  would  have  entered  into  them  heartily,  and 
readily  cooperated  with  him  to  "  whip  the  enemy  in  de 
tail." 

In  justice  to  Stuart,  it  may  be  said  that  he  did  not 
foresee  that  a  marching,  intervening,  hostile  army  would 
keep  him  away  from  Lee  so  long,  or  that  he  would  be 
required  before  he  could  get  to  the  Susquehanna,  and 
it  is  fair  to  Ewell  to  recall  his  instructions  about  not 
bringing  on  a  general  battle,  the  absence  of  a  division 
of  his  corps,  and  the  false  alarm  of  an  advance  on  his 
left,  after  the  battle  of  the  ist  was  over ;  but  it  will  be 
difficult  to  comprehend  how  two  thirds  of  his  right 
corps,  which  lay  four  miles  behind  a  battlefield  the  night 
before,  did  not  get  into  action  until  4  p.  M.  on  the  suc 
ceeding  day,  in  spite  of  the  "  subdued  excitement,"  the 
earnest  aggressiveness,  and  the  reported  utterances  of 
the  commanding  general ;  and  hard  to  palliate  the  con 
duct  of  a  corps  commander,  who  acknowledged  the  re 
ception  of  a  direct  order  at  n  A.M.  to  attack  with  his 
troops  then  up,  and  did  not  get  into  action  for  five 
hours  thereafter,  because  he  took  the  responsibility  of 
waiting  for  one  of  his  brigades  to  arrive — a  delay  which 


*  General  Meade  told  General  Ewell,  after  the  war,  had  he  occu 
pied  Culp's  Hill  at  4  p.  M.,  July  1st,  it  would  have  produced  the  with 
drawal  of  the  Federal  troops  by  the  Baltimore  pike,  Taneytown,  and 
Emmittsburg  roads.  See  letter  to  Colonel  G.  G.  Benedict,  Burlington, 
Vt.,  March  16,  1876. 


300 


GENERAL   LEE. 


allowed  the  remaining  Union  troops  to  reach  the  battle 
field  before  he  did. 

The  delay  in  getting  two  or  three  miles  to  the  right, 
after  the  early  hour  Longstreet's  command  got  near 
Lee's  headquarters,  can  not  be  wholly  laid  at  the  door 
of  his  guide — Lee's  engineer  officer,  Colonel  S.  P.  John 
ston.  That  officer  states  he  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  road  they  were  following  would  pass  over 
a  hill  in  view  of  the  Federal  line,  and  pointed  out  a 
shorter  route  across  a  field  screened  from  observation ; 
but  the  corps  commander  preferred  the  road,  and  fol 
lowed  it  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  then  halted,  and  changed 
the  position  of  his  divisions  in  column.  At  that  time 
the  distance  to  the  place  Hood  occupied  was  only  a 
mile  and  a  half,  and  could  have  been  reached,  Johnston 
says,  in  less  than  an  hour.  And,  finally,  if  the  positive 
assertions  of  Lee's  staff  officers  can  be  believed — and 
they  must  be,  from  their  well-known  high  characters — 
he  disobeyed  orders  when  he  attacked  with  one  third 
and  not  with  his  whole  corps.  Lee  knew  all  the  facts, 
for,  in  addition  to  what  was  said  to  Ewell,  Early,  and 
Pendleton,  he  told  Governor  Carroll,  of  Maryland,  "  that 
the  battle  would  have  been  gained  if  General  Long- 
street  had  obeyed  the  order  given  him  and  attacked 
early  instead  of  late  ;  that  Longstreet  was  a  brilliant 
soldier  when  once  engaged,  but  the  hardest  man  to  move 
in  my  army." 

At  i  A.  M.  on  the  4th  General  Imboden  was  sent  for 
by  Lee  to  get  orders  about  the  movements  of  the  trains 
and  ambulances  which  his  command  was  to  escort  to 
the  Potomac,  and  says  that  Lee,  after  expressing  his 
admiration  for  the  splendid  behavior  of  the  troops  in 
"  the  grand  charge,"  added,  "  and  if  they  had  been  sup 
ported  as  they  were  to  have  been,  but,  for  some  reason 
not  yet  fully  explained  to  me,  were  not,  we  would  have 
held  the  position  and  the  day  would  have  been  ours." 
Military  critics  are  not  able  to  understand  why  the  offi 
cial  head  of  the  officer  did  not  "drop  in  the  basket." 
They  do  not  know  Lee  or  his  great  heart,  or  that  self- 
denying  for  himself,  self-suffering  for  others,  which 
made  him  live  in  a  tent  for  fear  of  incommoding  the 
occupants  of  houses,  eat  the  most  frugal  food,  or  sit  in 


GETTYSBURG.  301 

the  most  uncomfortable  chair,  lest  some  other  person 
might  get  it. 

He  could  not  harden  himself  to  hew  to  the  strict 
military  line  in  whatever  directions  the  chips  might  fall, 
but  tried  to  believe  that  the  reasons  given  for  noncom- 
pliance  with  implied  or  direct  instructions  might  pos 
sibly  have  some  force,  that  the  delays  on  the  26.  could 
not  be  foreseen,  and  that  the  right  flank  of  the  assault 
ing  column  on  the  3d  might  have  suffered  if  not  pro 
tected  by  two  fine  divisions  of  infantry.  Captain  Man 
gold,  a  German  officer,  Instructor  of  Artillery  and 
Engineer  in  the  Royal  Academy,  Berlin,  and  a  distin 
guished  and  active  military  student,  says  the  defect  in 
General  Lee's  military  character  was  a  too  kindly  con 
sideration  for  incompetent  officers,  resulting  from  an 
excess  of  good-nature. 

The  intelligent  and  impartial  critic  must  admit  the 
offensive  dispositions  of  Lee  skillful ;  the  Union  left  on 
the  2d  to  a  late  hour  was  most  vulnerable,  and  upon  it 
the  attack  was  designed ;  while  the  assault  on  the  3d,  if 
not  surrounded  with  as  many  chances  of  success  as  on 
the  former  day,  was  made  at  a  point  where,  if  success 
ful,  he  would  have  secured  the  great  roads  to  Baltimore 
and  Washington.  It  was  not  unlike  Napoleon's  tactics 
at  Waterloo  ;  the  artillery  fire  was  opened  there  on  the 
allied  right,  and  Reille  directed  to  carry  Hougoumont, 
but  the  real  plan  of  the  great  soldier  was  to  break 
through  Wellington's  left  center,  which  he  ordered  to 
be  assaulted  with  D'Erlon's  whole  corps  supported  by 
Loban's,  to  drive  back  the  allies  on  their  own  right,  and 
secure  the  great  road  to  Brussels  before  the  helmets  of 
the  Prussian  squadrons  could  be  seen  on  the  heights  of 
St.  Lambert.  Lee,  too,  was  infused  with  the  confidence 
of  the  fighting  power  of  an  army  "trembling with  eager 
ness  to  rush  upon  the  enemy,"  though  occupying  very 
strong  positions  and  with  a  numerical  superiority  of  at 
least  thirty  thousand. 

The  numbers  on  each  side  in  this  great  contest  have 
been  variously  given.  Colonel  Walter  Taylor,  Lee's 
adjutant  general,  among  whose  duties  was  the  con 
solidation  of  the  corps  returns  into  the  army  returns, 
and  who,  after  the  war,  examined  the  Federal  archives 


302 


GENERAL   LEE. 


with  much  care,  puts  Meade's  army  at  one  hundred  and 
five  thousand  and  Lee's  at  sixty-two  thousand,  and  in  his 
Four  Years  with  General  Lee  gives  his  reasons.  The  dif 
ference  in  these  numbers  is  forty-three  thousand,  so  the 
statement  that  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  had  thirty 
thousand  more  than  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  at 
the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  seems  conservative.  Meade 
did  not  use  them  all.  His  largest  corps — the  Sixth, 
some  sixteen  thousand  men — was  in  reserve  and  re 
mained  intact,  only  losing  two  hundred  and  forty-two 
in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing.  Lee  had  no  reserve. 

The  loss  in  each  army  was  about  the  same,  Meade's 
killed  being  3,072;  wounded,  14,477 1  missing,  5,434. 
Lee's  report  claims  nearly  7,000  prisoners,  which  makes 
a  total  of  23,003.  In  Lee's,  killed,  2,592  ;  wounded, 
12,709;  missing,  5,150;  total,  20,451.  It  will  thus  be 
seen  that  not  only  is  the  aggregate  loss  nearly  equal, 
but  that  the  killed,  wounded,  and  missing  respectively 
does  not  vary  much.  Lee's  loss  was  the  greatest  on  the 
two  last  days  of  the  combat,  Meade's  the  first  day.  In 
the  great  struggle  thirty  thousand  men  were  killed  and 
wounded  in  both  armies.  The  killed,  wounded,  and 
missing  of  the  French  at  Waterloo  have  been  reported 
at  twenty-five  thousand,  the  Anglo-Belgians  at  fifteen 
thousand,  Napoleon  having  seventy-two  thousand  men, 
and  Wellington  sixty-eight  thousand,  a  total  of  one  hun 
dred  and  forty  thousand,  while  the  total  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  and  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  was 
about  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand. 

Both  armies  mourned  the  death  of  brave  men  and 
competent  officers.  In  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  four 
general  officers  were  killed — Reynolds,  Vincent,  Weed, 
and  Zook — and  thirteen  wounded,  viz.,  Hancock,  Sickles, 
Gibbon,  Warren,  Butterfield,  Barlow,  Doubleday,  Paul, 
Brook,  Barnes,  Webb,  Stanard,  and  Graham.  In  the  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia  five  general  officers  were  killed — 
Pender,  Garnett,  Armistead,  Barksdale,  and  Semmes — 
and  nine  wounded,  viz.,  Hood,  Hampton,  Heth,  J.  M. 
Jones,  G.  T.  Anderson,  Kemper,  Scales,  and  Jenkins. 

Meade  showed  no  disposition  to  assume  the  offensive 
after  Pickett's  repulse.  Like  Lee  at  Fredericksburg,  he 
did  not  want  to  lose  the  advantages  of  position,  and  was 


GETTYSBURG. 


303 


not  certain  the  battle  was  over.  The  relative  numbers 
in  each  army  were  still  about  the  same,  for  their  losses 
did  not  vary  much,  and  the  greater  part  of  Lee's  army 
was  ready  to  receive  him;  he  might  have  been  repulsed 
in  turn,  producing  perhaps  other  combinations  and  other 
results.  Lee's  ammunition  was  short,  it  is  true — a  fact 
which  was  unknown  to  him  when  the  assault  was  made, 
but  there  was  sufficient  to  still  make  "  many  tongues  of 
flame."  The  natal  day  of  American  liberty  broke  upon 
both  armies  occupying  nearly  the  same  position,  except 
that  Lee  had  drawn  in  his  left  and  retired  it  to  a  new 
line  out  of  the  town  covering  his  lines  of  communication, 
and  at  the  same  time  strengthened  his  right  by  defen 
sive  works  at  right  angles  to  his  main  line  to  guard 
against  any  flank  attack  there. 

The  Southern  leader  knew  on  the  night  of  the  3d 
that  he  could  no  longer  resume  the  offensive,  and  there 
was  nothing  to  be  done  except  to  withdraw  from  Meade's 
front.  While  not  declining  but  rather  inviting  an  attack 
on  the  4th,  he  had  started  his  long  trains,  his  prisoners 
and  such  of  his  wounded  as  could  bear  transportation, 
back  to  the  Potomac  at  Williamsport  under  a  cavalry 
escort,  and  was  busy  in  burying  his  dead  and  gathering 
up  the  badly  wounded  for  treatment.  At  dark,  in  the 
midst  of  a  heavy  rain  storm,  the  army  was  put  in  motion 
by  the  Fairfield  road  which  crossed  the  South  Mountain 
range  seven  miles  south  of  Cashtown,  being  the  direct 
road  to  Williamsport ;  but  the  rain  and  mud  so  impeded 
progress  that  the  rear  corps — Swell's — did  not  leave 
Gettysburg  until  late  in  the  forenoon  of  the  5th.  With 
the  exception  of  the  loss  of  some  wagons  and  ambulances 
by  cavalry  attacks,  there  was  no  interruption  to  the  retro 
grade  movement. 

Lee  reached  Hagerstown,  Md.,  on  the  6th,  the  same 
day  his  trains  arrived  at  Williamsport,  a  few  miles  dis 
tant.  On  account  of  the  swollen  condition  of  the  Poto 
mac  from  recent  rains,  and  the  destruction  of  the  pon 
toon  bridge  at  Falling  Waters,  a  short  distance  below, 
by  a  roving  detachment  sent  by  French  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  Lee  could  not  cross  his  impedimenta  or  his  army 
over  the  river,  but  sent  the  wounded  and  prisoners  over 
in  boats.  Calm  and  quiet  as  usual,  he  had  a  line  of  de- 


304 


GENERAL   LEE. 


fense  skillfully  traced  to  cover  the  river  from  Williams- 
port  to  Falling  Waters,  and  confidently  awaited  the  sub 
sidence  of  the  angry  flood  and  the  approach  of  his 
opponent.  His  cavalry  had  guarded  his  flanks  in  the 
retreat  and  had  saved  his  trains  at  Williamsport  from 
an  attack  of  the  Union  cavalry  before  his  army  reached 
there,  and  had  a  creditable  affair  at  Hagerstown. 

Six  days  after  his  arrival,  Meade,  marching  from 
Gettysburg  by  a  different  route  from  that  pursued  by 
Lee,  began  to  deploy  his  legions  in  his  front.  Lee's 
position  was  not  altogether  agreeable,  a  rapid,  roll 
ing,  impassable  river  sweeping  by  his  rear  and  a 
powerful  army  going  into  line  of  battle  in  his  front. 
Meade  was  very  deliberate  and  circumspect  at  Gettys 
burg,  for  he  did  not  forget  the  bullet  holes  through  his 
hat  when  he  attacked  on  his  left  at  Fredericksburg,  or 
the  knowledge  gained  of  the  unfavorable  conditions 
always  surrounding  an  attacking  force.  He  was  still 
waiting  further  demonstrations  from  Lee,  and  when 
night  appeared  without  a  movement  he  called  a  coun 
cil  of  his  corps  commanders,  and  in  writing  asked: 
First,  "  Shall  the  army  remain  here?"  Second,  "If  we 
remain  here  shall  we  assume  the  offensive  ? "  And 
then  wanted  to  know  if  they  deemed  it  expedient  to 
move  toward  Williamsport  through  Emmittsburg,  or  if 
his  enemy  was  retreating,  should  he  pursue  on  the  direct 
line  of  his  retreat.  The  majority  of  the  responses  to 
his  first  question  were  in  favor  of  remaining  at  Gettys 
burg,  but  all  voted  against  assuming  the  offensive,  for 
councils  of  war  rarely,  if  ever,  decide  to  fight.  Pleason- 
ton,  his  cavalry  commander,  was  very  clamorous  the  day 
before,  for  he  says  he  rode  up  to  Meade  after  the  re 
pulse  of  Pickett  and  said:  "General,  I  will  give  you  an 
hour  and  a  half  to  show  yourself  a  great  general ;  order 
the  army  to  advance  while  I  take  the  cavalry,  get  in 
Lee's  rear,  and  we  will  finish  the  campaign  in  a  week." 

While  this  advice,  if  followed,  might  have  been  of 
great  benefit  to  Lee,  its  most  remarkable  feature  was  its 
presumption.  Thirty-six  hours  after  Lee  abandoned  the 
field  of  Gettysburg,  Meade,  recalling  Sedgwick,  who  had 
gone  toward  Fairfield,  marched  from  Gettysburg  south 
to  Frederick,  Md.,  thence  slowly  around  by  Middletown 


GETTYSBURG.  305 

and  the  old  Sharpsburg  battlefield  to  Lee's  position. 
While  he  was  moving  around  the  horseshoe,  General 
Lee,  with  a  good  start,  had  gone  across  from  heel  to 
heel,  and,  had  it  not  been  for  high  water,  would  have 
been  in  Virginia  before  the  last  of  the  Army  of  the  Po 
tomac  left  the  battlefield  of  Gettysburg. 

Meade  telegraphed  Halleck  on  the  6th  that  if  he 
could  get  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  hand  he  would 
attack  Lee  if  he  had  not  crossed  the  river,  but  hoped  if 
misfortune  overtook  him  that  a  sufficient  number  of  his 
force  would  reach  Washington  and,  with  what  was  already 
there,  make  it  secure.  Halleck,  from  his  office  in  Wash 
ington,  urged  him  to  "  Push  forward  and  fight  Lee  be 
fore  he  can  cross  the  Potomac."  And  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
cramming  him  with  the  comforting  information  that 
Vicksburg,  on  the  Mississippi,  had  surrendered  to  Grant 
on  July  4th,  and  that  if  "  Lee's  army  could  be  de 
stroyed,  the  rebellion  would  be  over." 

While  waiting  at  Williamsport  General  Lee  received 
the  news  of  the  capture  (by  raiding  Federal  cavalry)  of 
his  son,  General  W.  H.  F.  Lee,  who  was  wounded  at 
Brandy  Station  on  June  loth,  and  had  been  taken  to 
Hickory  Hill,  the  residence  of  the  Wickhams,  near 
Hanover  Court  House.  He  wrote  Mrs.  Lee :  "  I  have 
heard  with  great  grief  that  Fitzhugh  has  been  captured 
by  the  enemy.  Had  not  expected  that  he  would  have 
been  taken  from  his  bed  and  carried  off ;  but  we  must 
bear  this  additional  affliction  with  fortitude  and  resig 
nation,  and  not  repine  at  the  will  of  God.  It  will 
eventuate  in  some  good  that  we  know  not  of  now.  We 
must  all  bear  our  labors  and  hardships  manfully.  Our 
noble  men  are  cheerful  and  confident.  I  constantly  re 
member  you  in  my  thoughts  and  prayers." 

On  July  1 2th,  in  camp  near  Hagerstown,  Lee  heard 
his  son  had  been  carried  to  Fort  Monroe,  and  wrote  : 
"The  consequences  of  war  are  horrid  enough  at  best 
surrounded  by  all  the  amelioration  of  civilization  and 
Christianity.  I  am  very  sorry  for  the  injuries  done 
the  family  at  Hickory  Hill,  and  particularly  that  our 
dear  old  Uncle  Williams  in  his  eightieth  year  should 
be  subjected  to  such  treatment.  But  we  can  not  help 
it  and  must  endure  it.  You  will,  however,  learn  be- 


306  GENERAL   LEE. 

fore  this  reaches  you  that  our  success  at  Gettysburg 
was' not  so  great  as  reported.  In  fact,  that  we  failed  to 
drive  the  enemy  from  his  position,  and  that  our  army 
withdrew  to  the  Potomac.  Had  the  river  not  unexpect 
edly  risen  all  would  have  been  well  with  us;  but  God  in 
his  all-wise  providence  willed  otherwise,  and  our  commu 
nications  have  been  interrupted  and  almost  cut  off.  The 
waters  have  subsided  to  about  four  feet,  and  if  they  con 
tinue,  by  to-morrow  I  hope  our  communications  will  be 
open.  I  trust  that  a -merciful  God,  our  only  hope  and 
refuge,  will  not  desert  us  in  this  hour  of  need,  and  will 
deliver  us  by  his  almighty  hand,  that  the  whole  world 
may  recognize  his  power,  and  all  hearts  be  lifted  up  in 
adoration  and  praise  of  his  unbounded,  loving-kindness. 
We  must,  however,  submit  to  his  almighty  will  whatever 
that  may  be.  May  God  guide  and  protect  us  all  is  my 
constant  prayer." 

The  Federal  commander  could  not  decide  to  attack 
Lee,  though  he  had  been  heavily  re-enforced,  and  called 
another  council  of  war  on  the  i3th.  All  his  corps  com 
manders  opposed  attacking  except  two.  Later  that  day 
Halleck  telegraphed  him  to  "call  no  council  of  war.  It 
is  proverbial  that  councils  of  war  never  fight.  Don't  let 
the  enemy  escape."  The  Washington  assaults  had  been 
so  continuous  that  the  Union  commander,  in  spite  of  the 
council's  decision,  advanced  his  army  on  the  i4th  with 
a  view  of  attacking,  if  justified  by  a  closer  examination; 
but  on  the  night  of  the  i3th  the  Army  of  Northern  Vir 
ginia  recrossed  the  river  at  Williamsport,  and  on  the 
pontoon  bridge  at  Falling  Water,  which  had  been  re 
paired.  "  The  escape  of  Lee's  army  without  another  bat 
tle  has  created  great  dissatisfaction  in  the  mind  of  the 
President,"  said  Halleck,  "and  it  will  require  an  ener 
getic  pursuit  on  your  part  to  remove  the  impression  that 
it  has  not  been  sufficiently  active  heretofore."  To  a 
high-minded,  meritorious,  conscientious  officer  like 
Meade  this  censure  was  irritating.  His  request  to  be 
immediately  relieved  was  declined  on  the  ground  chat 
the  dispatch  was  intended  as  a  "  stimulus." 

The  river  was  still  deep  though  fordable.  Ewell 
crossed  by  8  A.  M.  on  the  i4th,  but  the  passage  of 
Longstreet  and  Hill  was  not  completed  until  i  p.  M. 


GETTYSBURG. 


307 


Had  Meade  made  a  vigorous  attack  in  the  forenoon 
he  might  have  defeated  and  captured  the  portion  of 
Lee's  army  which  had  not  yet  crossed.  About  n  A.M. 
his  cavalry,  supported  by  artillery,  appeared  in  front  of 
Heth's  division,  which,  acting  as  rear  guard,  was  first 
encountered,  and  Brigadier-General  Pettigrew,  "  an  offi 
cer  of  great  promise  and  merit,"  was  killed.  As  soon  as 
the  bridge  was  clear  Hill  began  to  cross.  The  advance 
of  the  Federals  cut  off  some  of  Hill's  troops,  who  fell 
into  their  hands,  as  well  as  men  from  various  commands, 
who,  Lee  reported,  "  lingered  behind  overcome  by  pre 
vious  labors  and  hardships  and  the  fatigues  of  a  most 
trying  night  march,  supposed  to  amount  in  all  to  about 
five  hundred  men,  together  with  a  few  broken-down 
wagons  and  two  pieces  of  artillery  which  the  horses 
were  not  able  to  draw  through  the  mud." 

The  Union  commander  made  no  effort  to  follow  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia  across  the  river,  except  with 
Gregg's  cavalry,  which  was  attacked  by  two  of  Stuart's 
brigades  and  driven  back  with  loss.  Lee  proceeded  to 
Bunker  Hill  and  its  vicinity,  intending  to  cross  the 
Shenandoah  and  move  into  Loudoun  County,  Va. ;  but 
that  river  was  past  fording,  and  when  it  subsided,  Meade, 
who  had  crossed  the  Potomac  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge, 
seized  the  passes  Lee  designed  to  use  and  moved  along 
the  eastern  slope  of  the  mountains,  as  if  to  cut  off  Lee's 
communications  with  his  capital.  To  prevent  this,  Lee 
crossed  Chester  Gap  and  went  into  Culpeper,  his  ad 
vance  reaching  Culpeper  Court  House  July  24th.  After 
ward,  with  a  view  of  placing  his  force  in  a  position  to 
move  readily  to  oppose  the  enemy,  should  he  proceed 
south,  and  to  better  protect  Richmond,  he  made  the 
Rapidan  his  defensive  line.  While  at  Bunker  Hill  he 
wrote  Mrs.  Lee  on  July  i5th:  "  The  army  has  returned 
to  Virginia.  Its  return  is  rather  sooner  than  I  had  orig 
inally  contemplated,  but,  having  accomplished  much  of 
what  I  proposed  on  leaving  the  Rappahannock — namely, 
relieving  the  Valley  of  the  presence  of  the  enemy,  and 
drawing  his  army  north  of  the  Potomac — I  determined 
to  recross  the  latter  river.  The  enemy,  after  centering 
his  forces  in  our  front,  began  to  fortify  himself  in  his 
position  and  bring  up  his  troops,  militia,  etc.,  and  those 


3o8  GENERAL   LEE. 

around  Washington  and  Alexandria.  This  gave  him 
enormous  odds.  It  also  circumscribed  our  limits  for  pro 
curing  subsistence  for  men  and  animals,  which,  with  the 
uncertain  state  of  the  river,  rendered  it  hazardous  for 
us  to  continue  on  the  north  side.  It  has  been  raining 
a  great  deal  since  we  first  crossed  the  Potomac,  making 
the  roads  horrid  and  embarrassing  our  operations.  The 
night  we  recrossed  it  rained  terribly  ;  yet  we  got  all  over 
safe,  save  such  vehicles  as  broke  down  on  the  road 
from  the  mud,  rocks,  etc.  We  are  all  well.  I  hope  we 
will  yet  be  able  to  damage  our  adversaries  when  they 
meet  us,  and  that  all  will  go  right  with  us.  That  it 
should  be  so  we  must  implore  the  forgiveness  of  God  for 
our  sins  and  the  continuance  of  his  blessings.  There  is 
nothing  but  his  almighty  power  that  can  sustain  us. 
God  bless  you  all." 

And  from  Camp  Culpeper,  July  26,  1863:  "After 
crossing  the  Potomac,  finding  that  the  Shenandoah  was 
six  feet  above  fording  stage,  and  having  waited  a  week 
for  it  to  fall  so  that  I  might  cross  into  Loudoun,  fear 
ing  that  the  enemy  might  take  advantage  of  our  po 
sition  and  move  upon  Richmond,  I  determined  to  ascend 
the  Valley  and  cross  into  Culpeper.  Two  corps  are 
here  with  me.  The  third  passed  Thornton's  Gap,  and,  I 
hope,  will  be  in  striking  distance  to-morrow.  The  army 
has  labored  hard,  endured  much,  and  behaved  nobly. 
It  has  accomplished  all  that  could  be  reasonably  ex 
pected.  It  ought  not  to  have  been  expected  to  perform 
impossibilities,  or  to  have  fulfilled  the  anticipations  of 
the  thoughtless  and  unreasonable."  Meade  crossed 
the  Potomac  at  Harper's  Ferry  and  Berlin  on  pontoon 
bridges,  moved  through  Loudoun  and  Fauquier,  forcing 
Lee  to  conform  to  his  movements,  so  that  when  he 
eventually  took  up  the  line  of  the  Rappahannock,  Lee 
occupied  a  parallel  line  on  the  Rapidan.  From  his 
tent  in  Culpeper  he  wrote  Mrs.  Lee  on  August  2d  : 
"  I  have  heard  of  some  doctor  having  reached  Rich 
mond  who  had  seen  our  son  at  Fort  Monroe.  He  said 
that  his  wound  was  improving,  and  that  he  himself 
was  well  and  walking  about  on  crutches.  The  ex 
change  of  prisoners  that  had  been  going  on  has  for 
some  cause  been  suspended,  owing  to  some  crotchet 


GETTYSBURG. 


309 


or  other,  but  I  hope  will  soon  be  resumed,  and  that  we 
shall  have  him  back  soon.  The  armies  are  in  such 
close  proximity  that  frequent  collisions  are  common 
along  the  outposts.  Yesterday  the  enemy  laid  down 
two  or  three  pontoon  bridges  across  the  Rappahannock 
and  crossed  his  cavalry  and  a  large  force  of  his  infantry. 
It  looked  at  first  as  if  it  were  the  advance  of  his  army, 
and,  as  I  had  not  intended  to  deliver  battle,  I  directed 
our  cavalry  to  retire  slowly  before  them  and  to  check 
their  too  rapid  pursuit.  Finding  later  in  the  day  that 
their  army  was  not  following,  I  ordered  out  the  infantry 
and  drove  them  back  to  the  river.  I  suppose  they  in 
tended  to  push  on  toward  Richmond  by  this  or  some 
other  route.  I  trust,  however,  they  will  never  reach 
there." 

The  Army  of  the  Potomac  seeming  reluctant  to  ad 
vance,  General  Lee,  having  made  his  campaign,  did  not 
then  propose  to  do  so.  In  the  rest  following,  his 
thoughts  turned  to  the  operations  at  Gettysburg,  and 
the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  the  campaign.  He  grew 
sensitive  under  press  criticisms,  it  being  charged  that 
nothing  had  been  accomplished,  and  began  to  depreciate 
himself  and  rate  too  low  his  high  military  abilities.  He 
had  voluntarily  assumed  the  faults  of  his  subordinates. 
"The  twin  disasters  of  Gettysburg  and  Vicksburg," 
with  a  surrender  of  thirty  thousand  men  at  Vicksburg, 
were  dispiriting,  and  the  thought  that  he  was  held  in 
some  degree  responsible  for  one  of  them  seized  him. 

Gradually  the  conclusion  was  reached  that  perhaps 
he  was  occupying  a  position  which  might  be  filled  by 
one  who  could  render  greater  service  with  the  means  at 
command.  On  August  8th,  from  his  camp  in  Orange, 
General  Lee  wrote  the  Southern  President  "  that  the 
general  remedy  for  the  want  of  success  in  a  military 
commander  is  his  removal,"  and  that  his  reflections  had 
prompted  him  "to  propose  to  your  Excellency  the  pro 
priety  of  selecting  another  commander  for  this  army"; 
that  he  did  not  know  how  far  the  expressions  of  discon 
tent  in  the  public  journals  extended  in  the  army ;  his 
brother  officers  had  been  too  kind  to  report  it,  and  so 
far  the  troops  too  generous  to  exhibit  it.  He  begged 
Mr.  Davis  to  take  measures  to  supply  his  place,  because 

21 


GENERAL  LEE. 

he  could  not  accomplish  what  he  himself  desired ;  how, 
then,  could  he  fulfill  the  expectations  of  others  ?  He 
confessed  his  sight  was  not  good,  and  that  he  was  so 
dull  that  in  making  use  of  the  eyes  of  others  he  was 
frequently  misled. 

"  Everything,  therefore,"  he  wrote,  "  points  to  the 
advantages  to  be  derived  from  a  new  commander,  and  I 
the  more  anxiously  urge  the  matter  upon  your  Excel 
lency  from  ray  belief  that  a  younger  and  abler  man 
than  myself  can  readily  be  obtained.  I  know  that  he 
will  have  as  gallant  and  brave  an  army  as  ever  existed 
to  second  his  efforts,  and  it  would  be  the  happiest  day 
of  my  life  to  see  at  its  head  a  worthy  leader — one  that 
would  accomplish  more  than  I  can  perform  and  all  that 
I  have  wished.  I  hope  your  Excellency  will  attribute 
my  request  to  the  true  reason — the  desire  to  serve  my 
country  and  to  do  all  in  my  power  to  insure  the  success 
of  her  righteous  cause. 

"  I  have  no  complaints  to  make  of  any  one  but  my 
self.  I  have  received  nothing  but  kindness  from  those 
above  me,  and  the  most  considerate  attention  from  my 
comrades  and  companions  in  arms.  To  your  Excel 
lency  I  am  specially  indebted  for  uniform  kindness 
and  consideration.  You  have  done  everything  in  your 
power  to  aid  me  in  the  work  committed  to  my  charge 
without  omitting  anything  to  promote  the  general  wel 
fare.  I  pray  that  your  efforts  may  at  length  be  crowned 
with  success,  and  that  you  may  long  live  to  enjoy  the 
thanks  of  a  grateful  people." 

The  reply  of  Mr.  Davis  is  refined  in  sentiment  and 
tender  in  phrase :  "  I  admit  the  propriety  of  your  con 
clusions  that  an  officer  who  loses  the  confidence  of  his 
troops  should  have  his  position  changed,  whatever  may 
be  his  ability ;  but  when  I  read  the  sentence  I  was  not 
at  all  prepared  for  the  application  you  were  about  to 
make.  Expressions  of  discontent  in  the  public  journals 
furnish  but  little  evidence  of  the  sentiment  of  the  army. 
I  wish  it  were  otherwise,  even  though  all  the  abuse  of 
myself  should  be  accepted  as  the  results  of  honest  ob 
servation.  Were  you  capable  of  stooping  to  it,  you 
could  easily  surround  yourself  with  those  who  would 
fill  the  press  with  your  laudations,  and  seek  to  exalt 


GETTYSBURG.  31 1 

you  for  what  you  had  not  done,  rather  than  detract 
from  the  achievements  which  will  make  you  and  your 
army  the  subject  of  history  and  the  object  of  the 
world's  admiration  for  generations  to  come.  But  sup 
pose,  my  dear  friend,  that  I  were  to  admit,  with  all 
their  implications,  the  points  which  you  present,  where 
am  I  to  find  the  new  commander  who  is  to  possess  the 
greater  ability  which  you  believe  to  be  required  ?  I  do 
not  doubt  the  readiness  with  which  you  would  give 
way  to  one  who  could  accomplish  all  that  you  have 
wished,  and  you  will  do  me  the  justice  to  believe  that  if 
Providence  should  kindly  offer  such  a  person  for  our 
use  I  would  not  hesitate  to  avail  myself  of  his  services. 

"  My  sight  is  not  sufficiently  penetrating  to  discover 
such  hidden  merit,  if  it  exists,  and  I  have  but  used  to 
you  the  language  of  sober  earnestness  when  I  have  im 
pressed  upon  you  the  propriety  of  avoiding  all  unneces 
sary  exposure  to  danger,  because  I  felt  our  country 
could  not  bear  to  lose  you.  To  ask  me  to  substitute 
you  for  some  one,  in  my  judgment,  more  fit  to  command, 
or  who  would  possess  more  of  the  confidence  of  the 
army  or  of  the  reflecting  men  of  the  country,  is  to  de 
mand  an  impossibility.  It  only  remains  for  me  to  hope 
that  you  will  take  all  possible  care  of  yourself,  that 
your  health  and  strength  will  be  entirely  restored,  and 
that  the  Lord  will  preserve  you  for  the  important 
duties  devolved  upon  you  in  the  struggle  of  our  suf 
fering  country  for  the  independence  which  we  have  en 
gaged  in  war  to  maintain." 

The  commanding  generals  of  both  armies,  upright 
in  character  and  scrupulous  in  the  performance  of  their 
respective  duties,  were  naturally  sensitive  to  criticism, 
and  the  curious  spectacle  was  presented  that,  after  a 
gigantic  and  fierce  contest  against  each  other,  both 
should  ask  to  be  relieved  from  their  commands.  Fancy 
the  grim  veterans  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia 
paraded  in  their  camp  grounds  in  that  month  of  August, 
1863,  to  hear  the  announcement  that  Mr.  Davis  had  ac 
cepted  General  Lee's  resignation.  There  would  have 
resounded  from  flank  to  flank  "  Le  rot  est  mort!"  but 
when  the  "  younger  and  abler  man  "  assumed  command, 
the  mummies  of  the  Nile,  or  the  bones  beneath  the  ruins 
21 


312  GENERAL   LEE. 

of  Pompeii,  could  not  be  more  silent  than  the  refusal 
of  these  heroes  to  shout  to  Robert  E.  Lee's  successor 
"Viveleroi!" 

The  Angel  of  Peace  would  have  appeared  in  the  hour 
General  Lee  bid  farewell  to  the  Army  of  Northern  Vir 
ginia  and  mounted  Traveler  to  ride  away,  for  the  rapid 
termination  of  the  war  would  have  simplified  the  duties 
of  "  the  younger  and  abler  man."  Traveler,  the  most 
distinguished  of  the  general's  war  horses,  was  born  near 
the  Blue  Sulphur  Springs,  in  West  Virginia,  and  was  pur 
chased  by  General  Lee  from  Major  Thomas  L.  Broun, 
who  bought  him  from  Captain  James  W.  Johnston,  the 
son  of  the  gentleman  who  reared  him.  General  Lee  saw 
him  first  in  West  Virginia  and  afterward  in  South  Caro 
lina,  and  was  greatly  pleased  with  his  appearance.  As 
soon  as  Major  Broun  ascertained  that  fact  the  horse  was 
offered  the  general  as  a  gift,  but  he  declined,  and  Major 
Broun  then  sold  him.  He  was  four  years  old  in  the  spring 
of  1861,  and  therefore  only  eight  when  the  war  closed. 
He  was  "  greatly  admired  for  his  rapid,  springy  walk, 
high  spirit,  bold  carriage,  and  muscular  strength."  When 
a  colt  he  took  the  first  premium  at  the  Greenbrier  Fair, 
under  the  name  of  Jeff  Davis.*  The  general  changed 
his  name  to  Traveler.  He  often  rode  him  in  Lexington 
after  the  war,  and  at  his  funeral  Traveler  followed  the 
hearse.  He  was  appraised  by  a  board  in  August,  1864, 
at  $4,600  in  Confederate  currency. 

Though  Lee  was  ready  to  cover  his  face  with  his 
mantle  and  die  like  the  Athenian,  it  would  have  broken 
his  heart  to  have  separated  himself  from  troops  who, 
with  empty  haversacks,  shoeless  feet,  tattered  uniforms, 
but  full  cartridge  boxes  and  bright  bayonets,  had  with 
such  undaunted  courage  nobly  supported  him  at  all 
times.  And  where  would  the  Southern  President  have 
found  an  officer  who  was  superior  in  vigorous  strategy, 
fertility  of  resource,  power  of  self-command,  influence 
over  others,  patient  endurance,  or  one  more  composed  in 
victory  or  dignified  in  defeat  ? 

An  English  officer  described  him  in  the  Pennsylvania 
campaign  as  having  courtly  manners  and  being  full  of 

*  General  Grant  also  had  a  horse  called  Jeff  Davis. 


GETTYSBURG.  3 1 3 

dignity ;  that  he  had  none  of  the  small  vices — such  as 
smoking,  drinking,  chewing — and  his  bitterest  enemy 
never  accused  him  of  any.  of  the  greater  ones  ;  that 
Lee  was  the  handsomest  man  of  his  age  that  he  ever 
saw — "broad  shoulders,  well  made,  well  set  up,  a  thor 
ough  soldier  in  appearance."  He  generally  wore  a 
long  gray  jacket  with  three  stars  on  the  collar,  blue 
pants  tucked  into  his  Wellington  boots,  and  a  high  felt 
hat.  He  never  carried  arms,*  was  always  neat  in 
dress  and  person,  and  on  the  most  arduous  marches 
looked  smart  and  clean,  and,  "  what  is  very  pleasing  to 
an  Englishman,  he  rides  a  handsome  horse,  which  is 
extremely  well  groomed."  The  removal  from  the  com 
mand  of  the  Union  army  of  such  an  excellent  officer  as 
Meade  would  have  been  an  act  of  kindness  to  the  Con 
federates,  the  appreciation  of  which  would  have  been 
increased  if  Halleck  had  been  appointed  his  successor. 

The  season  of  repose  which  now  followed  was  much 
enjoyed  by  both  sides.  Lee  was  employed  in  looking 
after  the  welfare  of  his  troops,  for  their  rations  and 
clothing  were  both  getting  scarce.  He  took  great  in 
terest  in  the  religious  progress  of  his  soldiers,  and  did 
everything  in  his  power  to  promote  sacred  exercises  in 
his  camps.  The  relative  location  of  the  hostile  forces 
made  partial  reduction  of  their  numbers  comparatively 
safe.  If  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  did  not  want  a  bat 
tle,  it  could  fall  back  on  the  defenses  of  Washington. 
If  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  declined  the  encoun 
ter,  it  could  withdraw  to  the  Richmond  line. 

At  this  period  it  was  determined  to  re-enforce  Gen 
eral  Bragg  in  the  West  with  two  divisions  of  Long- 
street's  corps,  to  enable  him  to  defeat  the  Federal  Gen 
eral  Rosecrans,  which  he  did  at  Chickamauga,  while  the 
third  division — Pickett's — should  be  detached  for  duty 
south  of  the  James  River. 

Meade  then  crossed  over  the  Rappahannock  and 
occupied  Culpeper  and  the  country  between  the  two 

*  He  always  carried  a  pistol  in  the  holster  on  the  left  of  his  sad 
dle,  because  more  convenient  to  reach  when  dismounted,  and  ammu 
nition  in  the  right  holster.  This  pistol  always  hung  over  his  bedpost 
in  Lexington  after  the  war  and  was  discharged  after  his  death — not  a 
barrel  missing  fire. 


314  GENERAL   LEE. 

rivers,  so  as  to  be  closer  to  Lee  should  he  decide  to  re 
sume  offensive  operations,  but  his  plans  were  set  aside 
by  troops  being  detached  from  him  also.  The  Eleventh 
and  Twelfth  Corps  under  Hooker  were  sent  West,  and 
a  considerable  number  to  South  Carolina  and  New  York 
— to  this  latter  place  to  prevent  riots  resulting  from  an 
enforcement  of  the  recruiting  draft.  Meade  and  Lee 
for  some  weeks,  with  reduced  forces,  simply  observed 
each  other.  From  his  camp  near  Orange  Court  House, 
August  23,  1863,  General  Lee  wrote  Mrs.  Lee  that  he 
hears  his  son  is  "  doing  well,  is  walking  about,  and  has 
everything  he  wants  except  his  liberty.  You  may  see 
that  a  distinguished  arrival  at  Washington  is  chronicled 
in  the  papers  of  that  city — Miss  Catherine  Burke.  She 
is  reported  to  have  given  interesting  accounts  of  the 
Lee  family.  (This  was  one  of  the  colored  servants  from 
Arlington.)  My  camp  is  near  Mr.  Erasmus  Taylor's 
house,  who  has  been  very  kind  in  contributing  to  our 
comfort.  His  wife  sends  us  every  day  buttermilk,  loaf 
bread,  ice,  and  such  vegetables  as  she  has.  I  can  not 
get  her  to  desist,  though  I  have  made  two  special  visits 
to  that  effect.  All  the  brides  have  come  on  a  visit  to 
the  army — Mrs.  Ewell,  Mrs.  Walker,  Mrs.  Heth,  etc. 
General  Meade's  army  is  north  of  the  Rappahannock, 
along  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad.  He  is  very 
quiet."  And  again,  September  4,  1863:  "You  see  I  am 
still  here.  When  I  last  wrote,  the  indications  were  that 
the  enemy  would  move  against  us  any  day  ;  but  this  past 
week  he  has  been  very  quiet,  and  seems  at  present  to 
continue  so.  I  was  out  looking  at  him  yesterday  from 
Clark's  mountain.  He  has  spread  himself  over  a  large 
surface,  and  looks  immense,  but  I  hope  will  not  prove 
as  formidable  as  he  looks.  He  has,  I  believe,  been 
sending  off  some  of  his  troops  to  re-enforce  Rosecrans, 
and  has  been  getting  up  others;  among  them  several 
negro  regiments  are  reported.  I  can  discover  no  diminu 
tion."  And  on  September  18,  1863,  from  the  same  camp 
he  tells  her :  "  The  enemy  state  that  they  have  heard  of 
a  great  reduction  in  our  forces  here,  and  are  now  going 
to  drive  us  back  to  Richmond.  I  trust  they  will  not 
succeed.  But  our  hope  and  refuge  is  in  our  merciful 
Father  in  heaven." 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

CAMPAIGN    IN    VIRGINIA. — BRISTOL    STATION. — MINE 
RUN. WILDERNESS. 

FOR  three  weeks  Lee  waited,  hoping  to  be  attacked, 
and  then  suddenly,  on  October  9th,  put  his  own  army 
in  motion  with  a  design  of  making  a  wide  circuit  around 
his  antagonist's  right,  to  manoeuvre  him  out  of  Culpeper 
to  his  rear,  and  force  him  to  deliver  battle  by  intercept 
ing  his  march  toward  Washington.  He  left  a  small  force 
of  infantry  and  cavalry  to  hold  his  old  line  on  the  Rapi- 
dan,  which  the  Union  cavalry  attacked  the  next  day,  and 
was  repulsed  and  pursued  rapidly  toward  Culpeper  Court 
House,  where  Stuart  was  driving  Meade's  rear  guard 
under  Kilpatrick. 

The  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  numbering,  with 
out  Longstreet's  corps,  forty-four  thousand,  was  placed 
by  a  wide  swing,  via  Madison  Court  House,  around 
Meade's  right,  and  in  forty-one  miles  reached  Cul 
peper  Court  House  to  find  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
had  been  promptly  withdrawn  to  the  north  bank  of  the 
Rappahannock.  Lee  then  essayed  another  swing  around 
the  circle,  and  forced  a  passage  over  the  Rappahannock 
at  the  White  Sulphur  Springs  on  the  i2th,  roughly  hand 
ling  Gregg's  cavalry  division,  which  guarded  Meade's 
right,  marching  eighteen  miles  that  day;  but  while  Lee 
was  moving  north,  Meade,  not  hearing  from  him,  re- 
crossed  the  river  and  moved  south  to  Culpeper  again, 
leaving  one  corps  on  the  river.  As  soon  as  Gregg  re 
ported  Lee's  position,  the  Union  troops  were  counter 
marched  in  haste,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  i3th,  after 
a  night  march,  were  again  north  of  the  Rappahannock. 
That  morning  Lee  only  went  to  Warrenton — seven 
miles.  He  was  still  the  nearer  to  Washington,  and 

(315) 


316  GENERAL   LEE. 

ahead.  A  five-mile  march  from  Warrenton  to  Auburn, 
or  nine  miles  to  Warrenton  Junction,  or  fourteen  to 
Bristoe,  would  have  placed  him  in  position  to  strike  as 
Meade's  columns  marched  South.  The  i3th,  after  a 
march  of  a  few  miles,  was  passed  at  Warrenton  by 
Lee,  while  Meade's  rear,  under  Warren,  bivouacked  five 
miles  away  at  Auburn.  That  delay,  which  General  Lee 
says  was  due  to  being  out  of  rations,  allowed  Meade  to 
pass  beyond  him. 

The  next  morning,  the  i4th,  Ewell  was  sent  via  Auburn 
to  Bristoe,  and  A.  P.  Hill  by  New  Baltimore  to  the  same 
place.  The  former  struck  Warren's  rear,  the  latter  the 
head  of  his  column  at  Bristoe,  and  attacked  it  with  only 
two  brigades,  which  were  repulsed  by  the  masterly  man 
agement  of  Warren,  who  seized  with  Hays's  division  a 
cut  on  the  railroad.  So  skillfully  was  this  done  that  War 
ren  captured  from  Hill  four  hundred  and  fifty  prisoners, 
five  pieces  of  artillery,  and  two  stand  of  colors,  and 
passed  his  whole  corps  across  the  broad  run,  following 
Meade's  rear  without  further  molestation,  though  one 
half  of  Lee's  army  might  have  been  hammering  his  head 
and  the  other  half  his  tail. 

The  adventurous  Stuart  got  caught  near  Auburn  on 
the  night  of  the  i3th  between  two  marching  parallel 
columns  of  Federal  infantry,  and,  with  a  portion  of  his 
cavalry  and  some  guns,  lay  perdue  during  the  night 
within  a  mile  or  two  of  Meade's  headquarters  and 
some  four  hundred  yards  from  General  Warren's  rear 
division,  but  dexterously  extricated  his  whole  command 
next  morning. 

While  Lee  lay  at  Warrenton  on  the  i3th,  Meade  was 
twenty  miles  south  of  Bristoe,  but,  in  spite  of  his  night 
march  on  the  i2th,  succeeded  in  placing  his  whole  army 
beyond  Lee  on  the  i3th,  except  Warren,  who  stopped 
opposite  him  and  only  a  few  miles  away.  Meade  fell 
back  to  Centreville  and  its  vicinity,  where  he  prepared 
to  offer  battle.  The  position  might  have  been  turned, 
as  in  the  case  of  Pope,  but  the  immense  works  around 
Washington  held  out  hospitable  arms  in  case  Meade 
again  declined  the  contest.  Nothing  was  accomplished 
except  to  demonstrate  that  the  army  which  first  left 
Gettysburg  first  assumed  the  offensive  in  Virginia, 


THE   CAMPAIGN   IN  VIRGINIA. 


317 


When  General  Lee  retired,  Meade  followed,  and  his  ad 
vance  cavalry,  under  Kilpatrick,  was  routed  by  Stuart 
wheeling  about  and  attacking  it  in  front,  while  another 
portion  of  his  horsemen  assailed  their  flank  at  Buckland 
on  the  Warrenton  road  in  an  affair  christened  "  Buck- 
land  races." 

"  I  have  returned  to  the  Rappahannock,"  wrote  Gen 
eral  Lee  to  his  wife,  October  19,  1863;  "I  did  not 
pursue  with  the  main  army  beyond  Bristoe  or  Broad 
Run.  Our  advance  went  as  far  as  Bull  Run,  where 
the  enemy  was  intrenched,  extending  his  right  as  far 
as  Chantilly,  in  the  yard  of  which  he  was  building  a 
redoubt.  I  could  have  thrown  him  farther  back,  but 
I  saw  no  chance  of  bringing  him  to  battle,  and  it  would 
have  only  served  to  fatigue  our  troops  by  advancing 
farther.  If  they  had  been  properly  provided  with 
clothes  I  would  certainly  have  endeavored  to  have 
thrown  them  north  of  the  Potomac ;  but  thousands 
were  barefooted,  thousands  with  fragments  of  shoes, 
and  all  without  overcoats,  blankets,  or  warm  clothing. 
I  could  not  bear  to  expose  them  to  certain  suffering 
on  an  uncertain  issue."  The  Union  troops  around 
Warrenton  waited  for  the  railroad  which  the  Confeder 
ates  had  torn  up  to  be  repaired. 

From  Camp  Rappahannock,  October  28,  1863,  the 
General  said  to  Mrs.  Lee :  "  I  moved  yesterday  into  a 
nice  pine  thicket,  and  Perry  is  to-day  engaged  in  con 
structing  a  chimney  in  front  of  my  tent  which  will  make 
it  warm  and  comfortable.  I  have  no  idea  when  F.  [his 
son,  W.  H.  F.  Lee]  will  be  exchanged.  The  Federal  au 
thorities  still  resist  all  exchanges,  because  they  think  it 
is  to  our  interest  to  make  them.  Any  desire  expressed 
on  our  part  for  the  exchange  of  any  individual  magni 
fies  the  difficulty,  as  they  at  once  think  some  great  bene 
fit  is  to  result  to  us  from  it.  His  detention  is  very  griev 
ous  to  me,  and,  besides,  I  want  his  services.  I  am  glad 
you  have  some  socks  for  the  army.  Send  them  to  me. 
They  will  come  safely.  Tell  the  girls  to  send  all  they 
can.  I  wish  they  could  make  some  shoes,  too.  We 
have  thousands  of  barefooted  men.  There  is  no  news. 
General  Meade,  I  believe,  is  repairing  the  railroad,  and 
I  presume  will  come  on  again.  If  I  could  only  get 


GENERAL   LEE. 

some  shoes  and  clothes  for  the  men  I  would  save  him 
the  trouble." 

On  November  ist  Lee  reviewed  his  cavalry  corps, 
much  to  the  delight  of  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  who,  like  Murat, 
was  not  averse  to  the  pomp  of  war.  The  cavalry  chief 
was  in  all  his  glory  with  his  "  fighting  jacket  "  and  danc 
ing  plume.  The  cavalry  corps  numbered — by  the  re 
turns  of  the  day  before — seven  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  seventeen.  Many  squadrons  were  absent  on  picket 
and  other  detached  duty,  but  at  least  five  thousand  sabers 
passed  his  front.  It  was  an  inspiring  sight.  The  pri 
vates,  who  were  graceful  riders,  owned  the  horses,  which 
were  generally  good. 

From  Camp  Rappahannock,  November  i,  1863,  he 
wrote  Mrs.  Lee  :  "  I  have  just  had  a  visit  from  my  neph 
ews,  Fitz,  John,  and  Henry.  They  looked  very  well.  The 
former  is  going  on  a  little  expedition.  As  soon  as  I  was 
left  alone  I  committed  them  in  a  fervent  prayer  to  the 
care  and  guidance  of  our  heavenly  Father.  I  think  my 
rheumatism  is  better  to-day.  I  have  been  through  a 
great  deal  with  comparatively  little  suffering.  I  have 
been  wanting  to  review  the  cavalry  for  some  time,  and 
appointed  to-day  with  fear  and  trembling.  I  had  not 
been  on  horseback  for  five  days  previously  and  feared  I 
would  not  get  through,  but,  to  my  surprise,  I  got  along 
very  well.  The  Governor  was  here  and  told  me  Mrs. 
Letcher  had  seen  you  recently." 

Meade  now  decided  to  get  closer  to  Lee  so  as  to  be 
in  a  position  where  he  in  turn  could  take  the  offensive, 
and  began  to  advance  on  November  7th.  His  left  wing  of 
three  corps,  under  French,  was  directed  to  cross  the  Rap 
pahannock  at  Kelly's  Ford;  his  right,  under  Sedgwick, 
at  Rappahannock  Station.  French  progressed  without 
much  opposition,  but  Sedgwick  found  a  tete-de-pont  with 
lines  of  rifle  trenches  on  the  north  side  of  his  crossing 
point.  This  was  a  fort  or  redoubt,  being  in  part  some 
old  intrenchments,  but  without  a  ditch  and  open  to  the 
south,  with  which  it  was  connected  by  a  pontoon  bridge. 
It  was  occupied  by  two  of  Early's  brigades  under  Colo 
nels  Penn  and  Godwin,  with  four  pieces  of  artillery. 
Daylight  was  fast  disappearing;  Russell's  division  of 
the  Sixth  Corps  was  in  line  of  battle  in  its  front,  with 


THE  CAMPAIGN  IN  VIRGINIA.  319 

Upton's  brigade  deployed  as  skirmishers.  Russell 
thought  he  could  carry  the  work,  so  Sedgwick  gave 
the  order.  The  conditions  were  favorable  to  success; 
the  wind  blowing  strong  from  south  to  north,  the  firing 
could  not  be  heard  by  the  supporting  batteries  on  the 
south  side,  so  Russell  stormed  the  redoubt  with  so 
much  dash  that  it  was  captured  before  the  Southern 
force  on  the  south  side  knew  it. 

It  was  a  brilliant  coup  de  main,  reflecting  credit  on 
those  engaged,  particularly  the  Maine  and  Wisconsin 
regiments.  The  troops  assailed  by  a  division  amounted 
to  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  seventy-four,  and  so 
rapid  was  the  Federal  rush  that  only  six  were  killed  and 
thirty-nine  wounded ;  eight  captured  flags  were  carried 
to  Meade's  headquarters  by  Russell  and  Upton,  preceded 
by  a  band,  and  then  sent  in  charge  of  Russell  to  the  War 
Department  at  Washington,  after  the  manner  Napoleon's 
trophies  went  sometimes  to  Paris,  but  the  Secretary  sent 
the  gallant  officer  word  he  was  too  busy  to  see  him,  so 
the  concluding  ceremony  was  not  as  ostentatious  as 
planned.  Lee  withdrew  on  the  night  of  the  8th  to  his 
lines  behind  the  Rapidan,  while  Meade  reoccupied  his 
camp  between  the  rivers.  Both  sides  wanted  a  battle, 
but  on  ground  of  their  own  selection. 

About  this  time  the  city  of  Richmond  presented  Gen 
eral  Lee  with  a  house.  In  consequence,  the  President 
of  the  City  Council  received  the  following  letter,  dated 
November  12,  1863  :  "  I  assure  you,  sir,  that  no  want  of 
the  appreciation  of  the  honor  conferred  upon  me  by  this 
resolution,  or  insensibility  of  the  kind  feeling  that 
prompted  it,  induces  me  to  ask,  as  I  most  respectfully 
do,  that  no  further  proceedings  be  taken  with  reference 
to  the  subject.  The  house  is  not  necessary  for  the  use 
of  my  family,  and  my  own  duties  will  prevent  my  resi 
dence  in  Richmond.  I  shall  therefore  be  compelled  to 
decline  the  generous  offer,  and  trust  that  whatever 
means  the  City  Council  may  have  to  spare  for  this  pur 
pose  may  be  devoted  to  the  relief  of  the  families  of  our 
soldiers  in  the  field  who  are  now  in  need  of  assistance, 
and  more  deserving  of  it  than  myself." 

The  general  was  still  worried  about  his  imprisoned 
son,  who  was  an  affectionate,  lovable  fellow,  as  well  as  a 


320 


GENERAL   LEE. 


fine  officer,  and  wrote:  "Camp,  November  21,  1863. — I 
see  by  the  papers  that  our  son  has  been  sent  to  Fort  La 
fayette.  Any  place  would  be  better  than  Fort  Monroe 
with  Butler  in  command.  His  long  confinement  is  very 
grievous  to  me,  yet  it  may  all  turn  out  for  the  best." 

The  people  of  Richmond,  not  being  able  to  do  any 
thing  for  General  Lee,  doubled  their  acts  of  kindness  to 
his  wife.  She  was  deeply  grateful  for  their  love  and 
friendship,  and  so  informed  her  husband,  who  replied 
from  camp,  November  25,  1863  :  "  The  kindness  exhibited 
toward  you  as  well  as  myself  by  our  people,  in  addition 
to  exciting  my  gratitude,  causes  me  to  reflect  how  little 
I  have  done  to  merit  it,  and  humbles  me  in  my  own  eyes 
to  a  painful  degree.  I  am  very  sorry  the  weather  was  so 
bad  that  I  could  not  give  the  President  a  review.  I  want 
ed  him  to  see  the  troops,  and  wanted  them  to  see  him." 

Over  two  weeks  elapsed,  after  the  Army  of  the  Poto 
mac  and  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  were  face  to  face 
along  the  Rapidan,  before  Meade  executed  a  well-con 
sidered  plan  to  turn  Lee's  right  and  either  throw  him 
nearer  to  his  capital  or  beat  him  before  he  could  con 
centrate  his  force,  which  was  much  scattered,  in  order  to 
secure  supplies  more  easily.  At  dawn  on  November  26th 
his  columns  were  put  in  motion  to  cross  the  Rapidan  at 
its  lower  fords,  reach  the  country  south  of  the  river  and 
east  of  Orange  Court  House,  and  there  be  directed  to 
Orange  Court  House  on  the  roads  leading  from  Fred- 
ericksburg  to  that  point.  He  was  in  light  marching  or 
der,  well  supplied  with  ten  days'  rations,  and  his  wagons 
were  left  north  of  the  Rapidan ;  but  around  his  Cul- 
peper  camp  hovered  Southern  cavalry  scouts,  and  Lee 
early  knew  Meade's  preparations  and  movements. 

Flowing  northerly  into  the  Rapidan  and  almost  at 
right  angles  was  Mine  Run,  on  whose  western  banks 
Lee  rapidly  deployed  a  line  of  battle,  his  great  engineer 
ing  talent  assisting  him  in  locating  his  troops,  and  with 
great  rapidity  breastworks  were  constructed  too  strong 
to  be  assailed.  When  Meade  reached  the  line  of  Mine 
Run  en  route  to  Orange  Court  House,  Lee's  army  con 
fidently  blocked  his  way.  He  could  not  make  a  direct 
assault,  so  the  Union  commander  resolved  to  attack  both 
wings,  by  Sedgwick  on  Lee's  left,  by  Warren  on  his 


THE  CAMPAIGN   IN  VIRGINIA.  331 

right ;  but  the  latter,  formerly  an  engineer  officer,  who 
was  to  begin,  reported  that  closer  reconnoissance  dis 
closed  his  enemy's  lines  too  were  well  defended.  There 
was  no  alternative  left  Meade  except  to  withdraw, 
which  he  did  during  the  night. 

To  Mrs.  Lee  the  general  gave  his  account  of  the  af 
fair  from  Camp  Rapidan,  December  4,  1863  :  "You  will 
probably  have  seen  that  General  Meade  has  retired  to 
his  old  positions  on  the  Rappahannock  without  giving 
us  battle.  I  had  expected,  from  his  movements  and  all 
that  I  had  heard,  that  it  was  his  intention  to  do  so,  and 
after  the  first  day,  when  I  thought  it  necessary  to  skir 
mish  pretty  sharply  with  him  on  both  flanks  to  ascertain 
his  views,  I  waited  patiently  his  attack.  On  Tuesday, 
however,  I  thought  he  had  changed  his  mind,  and  that 
night  made  preparations  to  move  around  his  left  next 
morning  and  attack  him.  But  when  day  dawned  he 
was  nowhere  to  be  seen.  He  had  commenced  to  with 
draw  at  dark  Tuesday  evening.  We  pursued  to  the 
Rapidan,  but  he  was  over.  Owing  to  the  nature  of  the 
ground,  it  was  to  our  advantage  to  receive  rather  than 
to  make  the  attack,  and  as  he  about  doubled  us  in 
numbers,  I  wished  to  have  that  advantage.  I  am  greatly 
disappointed  at  his  getting  off  with  so  little  damage,  but 
we  do  not  know  what  is  best  for  us.  I  believe  a  kind 
God  has  ordered  all  things  for  our  good." 

In  the  latter  part  of  December  General  W.  H.  F.  Lee, 
still  in  prison,  was  overtaken  by  a  great  calamity.  His 
wife  and  his  two  children  died.  When  General  Lee 
was  informed  of  their  death  he  wrote : 

Sunday  Morning,  December  27,  1863. 

Custis's  dispatch  which  I  received  last  night  demolished  all 
the  hopes  in  which  I  had  been  indulging  during  the  day  of  dear 
Charlotte's  recovery.  It  has  pleased  God  to  take  from  us  one 
exceedingly  dear  to  us,  and  we  must  be  resigned  to  his  holy  will. 
She,  I  trust,  will  enjoy  peace  and  happiness  forever,  while  we 
must  patiently  struggle  on  under  all  the  ills  that  may  be  in  store 
for  us.  What  a  glorious  thought  it  is  that  she  has  joined  her  lit 
tle  cherubs  and  our  angel  Annie  [his  daughter]  in  heaven  !  Thus 
is  link  by  link  of  the  strong  chain  broken  that  binds  us  to  earth, 
and  smoothes  our  passage  to  another  world.  Oh,  that  we  maybe 
at  last  united  in  that  haven  of  rest,  where  trouble  and  sorrow 
never  enter,  to  join  in  an  everlasting  chorus  of  praise  and  glory  to 


322 


GENERAL   LEE. 


our  Lord  and  Saviour  !  I  grieve  for  our  lost  darling  as  a  father 
only  can  grieve  for  a  daughter,  and  my  sorrow  is  heightened  by 
the  thought  of  the  anguish  her  death  will  cause  our  dear  son,  and 
the  poignancy  it  will  give  to  the  bars  of  his  prison.  May  God  in 
his  mercy  enable  him  to  bear  the  blow  he  has  so  suddenly  dealt 
and  sanctify  it  to  his  everlasting  happiness  ! 

Rations  and  clothing  for  his  men  and  forage  for  his 
animals  were  sources  of  great  anxiety  to  him.  In  the 
midst  of  winter  many  of  his  brave  men  were  without 
blankets  and  barefooted.  From  camp,  January  24,  1864, 
he  wrote:  "  I  have  had  to  disperse  the  cavalry  as  much 
as  possible  to  obtain  forage  for  their  horses,  and  it  is 
that  which  causes  trouble.  Provisions  for  the  men,  too, 
are  very  scarce,  and  with  very  light  diet  and  light 
clothing  I  fear  they  suffer ;  but  still  they  are  cheerful 
and  uncomplaining.  I  received  a  report  from  one  divi 
sion  the  other  day  in  which  it  was  stated  that  over  four 
hundred  men  were  barefooted  and  over  a  thousand 
without  blankets." 

Difficulties  surrounded  him  on  every  side !  From 
camp,  February  6,  1864,  he  wrote  Mrs.  Lee  :  "  I  received 
your  letter  some  days  ago,  and  last  night  your  note 
accompanying  a  bag  of  gloves  and  socks  and  a  box  of 
coffee.  Mrs.  Devereux  sent  the  coffee  to  you,  not  to 
me,  and  I  shall  have  to  send  it  back.  It  is  so  long 
since  we  have  had  the  foreign  bean  that  we  no  longer 
desire  it.  We  have  a  domestic  article,  which  we  pro 
cure  by  the  bushel,  that  answers  very  well.  You  must 
keep  the  good  things  for  yourself.  We  have  had  to 
reduce  our  allowance  of  meat  one  half,  and  some  days 
we  have  none.  The  gloves  and  socks  are  very  ac 
ceptable,  and  I  shall  give  them  out  this  morning.  The 
socks  of  Mrs.  Shepherd  are  very  nice,  but  I  think  it  is 
better  to  give  them  to  the  soldiers  than  to  dispose  of 
them  as  you  suggest.  The  soldiers  are  much  in  need. 
We  have  received  some  shoes  lately,  and  the  socks  will 
be  a  great  addition.  Tell  '  Life'  [his  youngest  daugh 
ter]  I  think  I  hear  her  needles  rattle  as  they  fly  through 
the  meshes." 

The  very  day  after  this  letter  was  written  these 
destitute  men  joyfully  sprang  to  arms.  General  Butler, 
at  Fort  Monroe,  but  commanding  the  Department  of 


THE  CAMPAIGN   IN  VIRGINIA. 


323 


Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  thought,  from  what  he  had 
heard,  he  could  capture  Richmond  with  cavalry  from 
the  Peninsula — the  general  ability  of  Butler  was  great, 
his  military  qualifications  small.  Brigadier-General 
Wister  marched  from  New  Kent  Court  House  to  the 
Chickahominy  and  marched  back  again.  A  portion  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  in  pursuance  of  Butler's  plan, 
were  to  cross  the  Rapidan  and  threaten  Lee,  to  prevent 
him  from  dispatching  troops  to  Richmond  by  rail. 
This  Army-of-the-Potomac  diversion  was  under  gallant 
old  Sedgvvick,  who  was  commanding  the  army  during 
Meade's  temporary  absence. 

General  Lee  gives  his  account  of  the  diversion  in  a 
letter  dated  Camp,  Orange  County,  February  14,  1864 : 
"  This  day  last  week  we  were  prepared  for  battle,  but  I 
believe  the  advance  of  the  enemy  was  only  intended  to 
see  where  we  were  and  whether  they  could  injure  us. 
They  place  their  entire  loss  in  killed,  wounded,  and 
missing  at  twelve  hundred,  but  I  think  that  is  exag 
gerated.  Our  old  friend  Sedgwick  was  in  command. 
In  reference  to  Rob  "  (his  youngest  son,  who  was  a  pri 
vate  in  the  Rockbridge  artillery  battery,  and  who  Mrs. 
Lee  desired  to  be  with  his  father),  "his  company  would 
be  a  great  pleasure  and  comfort  to  me,  and  he  would  be 
extremely  useful  in  various  ways,  but  I  am  opposed  to 
officers  surrounding  themselves  with  their  sons  and  rela 
tives.  It  is  wrong  in  principle,  and  in  that  case  selec 
tions  would  be  made  from  private  and  social  relations 
rather  than  for  the  public  good.  There  is  the  same  ob 
jection  to  going  with  Fitz  Lee.  I  should  prefer  Rob's 
being  in  the  line  in  an  independent  position,  where  he 
could  rise  by  his  own  merit  and  not  through  the  recom 
mendation  of  his  relatives.  I  expect  him  here  soon, 
when  I  can  better  see  what  he  himself  thinks.  The 
young  men  have  no  fondness  for  the  society  of  the  old 
general.  He  is  too  heavy  and  sombre  for  them." 

Again  Lee's  rest  was  disturbed  by  a  diversion  on  his 
left  flank  by  infantry  and  cavalry,  in  order  to  allow 
Kilpatrick,  with  some  four  thousand  horsemen,  to  ride 
past  his  right,  make  a  dash  for  Richmond,  release  the 
Union  prisoners,  and  disturb  the  peace  generally.  It 
accomplished  nothing.  The  idea  originated  in  Wash- 


324 


GENERAL   LEE. 


ington,  it  is  said,  for  Meade  disapproved  it.  Upon  one 
of  Kilpatrick's  officers — Colonel  Ulric  Dahlgren,  who 
was  killed — some  remarkable  papers  were  found,  in 
cluding  a  sort  of  an  address  to  the  soldiers  to  burn 
Richmond,  "kill  Jeff  Davis  and  Cabinet,"  and  do  many 
other  horrible  things.  The  United  States  Government 
promptly  disclaimed  any  knowledge  of  such  orders,  and 
so  did  Meade.  Dahlgren  was  a  daring,  dashing  young 
fellow,  but  was  too  enthusiastic.  It  is  certain  the 
papers  published  at  the  time  were  taken  from  his  per 
son.  The  Southern  President  laughed  as  he  read  over 
the  originals  in  his  office,  and  turning  to  Mr.  Benja 
min,  his  Secretary  of  State,  who  was  with  him,  said, 
when  he  reached  the  word  Cabinet,  "  That  is  intended 
for  you,  Mr.  Benjamin." 

Lee  was  now  making  every  effort  to  promote  the 
efficiency  of  his  army  for  the  great  struggle  he  knew 
must  come  in  the  spring.  On  March  18,  1864,  he 
wrote:  "I  arrived  safely  yesterday."  (He  had  been 
on  a  short  visit  to  Richmond.)  "  There  were  sixty- 
seven  pairs  of  socks  in  the  bag  I  brought  up  instead 
of  sixty-four,  as  you  supposed,  and  I  found  here  three 
dozen  pairs  of  beautiful  white-yarn  socks,  sent  over 
by  our  kind  cousin  Julia  and  sweet  little  Carrie,  mak 
ing  one  hundred  and  three  pairs,  all  of  which  I  sent 
to  the  Stonewall  brigade.  One  dozen  of  the  Stuart 
socks  had  double  heels.  Can  you  not  teach  Mildred 
[his  daughter]  that  stitch  ?  They  sent  me  also  some 
hams,  which  I  had  rather  they  had  eaten.  I  pray  that 
you  may  be  preserved  and  relieved  from  all  your  trou 
bles,  and  that  we  may  all  be  again  united  here  on  earth 
and  forever  in  heaven."  His  wife  and  daughter  and 
other  friends  of  the  cause  were  knitting  socks  for  the 
soldiers,  and  the  commanding  general  had  brought  some 
of  them  back  to  the  army  himself ! 

The  cavalry,  for  the  better  subsistence  of  men  and 
horses,  had  been  moved  back  to  Charlottesville  for  the 
winter,  and,  not  having  much  to  do,  some  of  the  officers 
proposed  to  dance.  General  Lee  wrote  his  son  Robert, 
then  belonging  to  that  arm  of  service,  from  Camp  Orange 
Court  House,  January  17,  1864:  "I  inclose  a  letter 
for  you  which  has  been  sent  to  my  care.  I  hope  you 


THE   CAMPAIGN   IN  VIRGINIA. 


325 


are  well  and  all  around  you.  Tell  Fitz  I  grieve  over 
the  hardships  and  sufferings  of  his  men  in  their  late 
expedition.  I  would  have  preferred  his  waiting  for 
more  favorable  weather.  He  accomplished  much  under 
the  circumstances,  but  would  have  done  more  in  better 
weather.  I  am  afraid  he  was  anxious  to  get  back  to 
the  ball.  This  is  a  bad  time  for  such  things.  We  have 
too  grave  subjects  on  hand  to  engage  in  such  trivial 
amusements.  I  would  rather  his  officers  should  enter 
tain  themselves  in  fattening  their  horses,  healing  their 
men,  and  recruiting  their  regiments.  There  are  too 
many  Lees  on  the  committee.  I  like  them  all  to  be 
present  at  battles,  but  can  excuse  them  at  balls.  But 
the  saying  is,  'Children  will  be  children.'  I  think  he 
had  better  move  his  camp  farther  from  Charlottesville, 
and  perhaps  he  will  get  more  work  and  less  play.  He 
and  I  are  too  old  for  such  assemblies.  I  want  him  to 
write  me  how  his  men  are,  his  horses,  and  what  I  can 
do  to  fill  up  his  ranks." 

From  camp,  April  2,  1864,  he  wrote  Mrs.  Lee : 
"  Your  note  with  the  socks  arrived  last  evening.  I  have 
sent  them  to  the  Stonewall  brigade ;  the  number  all 
right — thirty  pairs.  Including  this  last  parcel  of  thirty 
pairs,  I  have  sent  to  that  brigade  two  hundred  and 
sixty-three  pairs.  Still,  there  are  about  one  hundred 
and  forty  whose  homes  are  within  the  enemy's  lines 
and  who  are  without  socks.  I  shall  continue  to  furnish 
them  till  all  are  supplied.  Tell  the  young  women  to 
work  hard  for  the  brave  Stonewallers."  And  once 
more,  from  Orange  County,  April  21,  1864:  "Your 
note  with  bag  of  socks  reached  me  last  evening.  The 
number  was  correct — thirty-one  pairs.  I  sent  them  to 
the  Stonewall  brigade,  which  is  not  yet  supplied.  Sixty- 
one  pairs  from  the  ladies  in  Fauquier  have  reached 
Charlottesville,  and  I  hope  will  be  distributed  soon. 
Now  that  Miss  Bettie  Brander  has  come  to  the  aid  of 
my  daughters,  the  supply  will  soon  be  increased." 

The  preparations  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  for  prosecuting  the  war  in  1864  were  on  a  vast 
scale.  Stupendous  efforts  were  made  to  crush  armed 
resistance  everywhere.  An  irresistible  invasion  was  de 
signed  to  destroy  "  rebellion  "  from  center  to  circum- 
22 


326  GENERAL  LEE. 

ference.  The  principal  objective  points  were  the  two 
principal  armies  of  the  Confederacy — the  one  then  at 
Dalton,  Ga.,  under  J.  E.  Johnston,  and  the  other  in  Vir 
ginia  under  Robert  E.  Lee.  The  Washington  authorities 
decided  that  there  should  be  only  one  head  to  direct 
these  immense  plans  of  campaign,  and  it  determined  the 
head  should  be  on  the  shoulders  of  General  U.  S.  Grant. 
This  officer  was  commissioned  lieutenant  general  on 
March  9,  1864,  and  placed  in  the  command  of  all  the 
armies  of  the  United  States.  His  success  in  the  West 
had  brought  him  prominently  to  the  notice  of  Mr.  Lin 
coln.  In  the  exercise  of  supreme  command  his  especial 
attention  was  to  be  bestowed  upon  General  Lee,  and 
his  headquarters  were  to  be  established  with  Meade's 
army.  Hiram  Ulysses,  as  christened,  or  Ulysses  S. 
Grant,  as  he  was  registered  at  West  Point,  was  a  na 
tive  of  Ohio,  who  graduated  at  the  United  States  Mili 
tary  Academy  in  1843;  was  assigned  to  the  Fourth 
Infantry  and  became  regimental  quartermaster ;  served 
with  distinction  in  Mexico,  and  was  bold  and  adventur 
ous — for  instance,  at  Molino  del  Rey  he  climbed  to 
the  roof  of  a  house  and  demanded  the  surrender  of 
Mexicans  occupying  it ;  and  at  another  point  placed 
howitzers  in  the  belfry  of  a  church  to  drive  his  enemy 
out  of  a  defensive  position  near  the  City  of  Mexico. 
After  eleven  years  in  the  United  States  Army  he  re 
signed,  was  afterward  on  a  small  farm  near  St.  Louis, 
and  then  became  a  clerk  in  1860  in  the  hardware  and 
leather  store  of  his  father  in  Galena,  111.  When  the 
war  broke  out  he  offered  his  services  to  his  Government 
in  writing,  but  received  no  reply,  and  was  afterward 
made  colonel  of  the  Twenty-first  Illinois  Regiment  by 
the  Governor  of  that  State.  He  was  thirty-nine  years 
old  when  he  confronted  Lee,  and  was  not  to  be  despised 
as  a  commander.  He  was  fortunate  in  being  placed  in 
command  at  a  time  when  the  resources  of  men  and 
means  of  the  Confederacy  were  smaller  than  ever  be 
fore,  and  his  peculiar  direct  tactics  could  be  employed 
in  consequence  of  superiority  in  numbers,  for  he  ad 
mitted  to  Meade  he  never  manoeuvred.  With  two  hos 
tile  armies  of  approximate  strength  commanded  by  Lee 
and  Grant  in  a  campaign  demanding  a  high  order  of 


THE   CAMPAIGN   IN  VIRGINIA.  327 

military  sagacity  and  a  familiarity  with    strategic  sci 
ence,  the  chances  of  success  would  be  with  Lee. 

The  Union  chief  had,  however,  many  excellent  quali 
ties  for  a  soldier.  He  was  taciturn,  sturdy,  plucky,  not 
afraid  of  public  responsibility  or  affected  by  public 
opinion.  There  was  no  ostentation  in  his  position,  and 
to  an  outsider  he  was  not  as  showy  as  a  corporal  of 
the  guard.  Meade  had  a  Solferino  flag  with  a  golden 
eagle  in  a  silver  wreath  for  his  headquarters.  When 
General  Grant  first  saw  it  unfurled,  as  they  broke  camp 
for  the  Wilderness  campaign,  he  is  reported  to  have  ex 
claimed,  "What's  this?  Is  imperial  Caesar  anywhere 
about  here  ? " 

Lee,  who  had  campaigned  against  McClellan,  Pope, 
Burnside,  Hooker,  and  Meade,  had  now  to  measure 
swords  with  Grant.  Sheridan,  too,  made  his  first  bow 
in  Virginia  at  this  time.  He  had  served  with  distinction 
under  Halleck  in  the  West,  and  when  Grant  asked  for 
the  best  officer  that  could  be  found  to  be  his  chief  of 
cavalry,  Halleck  suggested  Sheridan,  and  his  suggestion 
was  instantly  adopted.  This  officer  graduated  in  1853 
at  West  Point,  was  a  classmate  of  McPherson,  Schofield, 
and  Hood,  had  served  in  the  Fourth  Infantry — Grant's 
old  regiment — and  was  thirty  years  of  age  when  he  first 
drew  his  sabre  in  Virginia  in  1864. 

The  Federal  Government  laid  at  the  feet  of  Grant 
its  unbounded  treasures.  His  Virginia  army  was  in 
creased  to  one  hundred  and  eighteen  thousand  men  of 
all  arms  and  three  hundred  and  eighteen  cannon,  as 
some  authorities  have  it;  but  the  report  of  the  Union 
Secretary  of  War  to  the  first  session  of  the  Thirty-ninth 
Congress  gave  one  hundred  and  forty-nine  thousand 
one  hundred  and  sixty  men.  Some  idea  of  its  vast  pro 
portions  may  be  had  by  the  statement  that  one  hundred 
and  eighteen  thousand  men,  disposed  for  battle  two 
ranks  deep,  would  cover  a  front  of  thirty  miles,  while 
sixty-two  thousand  men,  similarly  disposed,  would  cover 
only  sixteen  miles.  Grant  says,  in  his  Memoirs,  his 
wagon  train  would  have  reached  on  a  single  road  from 
the  Rapidan  to  Richmond,  sixty-five  miles.  To  meet 
this  grand  "  On  to  Richmond  !  "  Lee  had  sixty-two  thou 
sand  men  and  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  field  guns. 
22 


328  GENERAL    LEE. 

At  midnight  on  May  3d  Grant  began  to  cross  the 
Rapidan  at  Ely's  and  Germanna  fords,  some  distance 
below  Lee's  right,  but  at  the  very  points  Lee  had 
predicted,  a  few  days  before,  in  a  conference  with  his 
officers.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  now  consoli 
dated  into  four  corps — Second,  Fifth,  and  Sixth — com 
manded  by  Hancock,  Warren,  and  Sedgwick,  and  the 
Ninth  under  Burnside.  (Under  the  consolidation  the 
First  and  Third  Corps  disappeared.)  When  the  sun  sank 
to  rest  on  the  4th,  Grant  had  crossed  his  whole  army, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  5th  confidently  started 
across  the  Wilderness  in  a  southerly  direction  to  force 
Lee  to  accept  battle. 

Crossing  the  river  without  opposition  relieved  his 
mind  from  serious  apprehensions;  but  it  was  no  part  of 
Lee's  plan  to  resist  him  there.  Indeed,  he  generally 
gave  plenty  of  room  on  his  side  of  a  stream  for  his  op 
ponent  to  form,  hoping  to  make  it  as  difficult  for  him  to 
get  back  as  it  was  easy  for  him  to  get  over.  It  is  safe 
to  say  he  would  never  have  formed  his  troops  at  the 
water  edge  of  the  Bull  Run  fords  as  Beauregard  did  at 
the  first  Manassas,  but  upon  commanding  positions 
back,  with  only  sufficient  force  to  delay  and  give  notice 
of  the  crossing.  Had  Beauregard  done  this,  he  would 
not  have  had  his  left  turned,  for  the  opportune  arrival 
of  Johnston  alone  gave  him  the  battle.  Grant's  move 
did  not,  as  he  expected,  compel  Lee  to  fall  back  toward 
Richmond  and  fight  a  defensive  battle ;  but  hardly  had 
he  filled  the  Wilderness  with  men  as  thick  as  "  raging 
locusts  "  than  Lee  marched  to  meet  and  attack  him. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  May  4th  he  bade  adieu  to 
the  three  or  four  tents  near  Orange  Court  House  which 
had  been  the  winter  home  of  himself  and  personal  staff, 
and  with  Swell's  corps,  two  detached  brigades,  and 
two  divisions  of  Hill's  corps,  with  artillery  and  cavalry, 
marched  by  the  most  direct  course  for  Grant's  army. 
Longstreet,  who  was  near  Gordonsville  then  with  two 
divisions  (Pickett's  was  south  of  James  River),  was  di 
rected  to  follow,  as  well  as  Anderson's  division  of  Hill's 
corps  which  was  on  Rapidan  Heights.  On  the  5th, 
in  two  columns,  Lee  advanced  by  the  old  turnpike  and 
plank  roads,  which,  leading  east  from  Orange  Court 


THE   CAMPAIGN   IN   VIRGINIA.  329 

House  via  Chancellorsville  to  Fredericksburg,  were 
being  crossed  by  Grant  at  right  angles,  who  was 
marching  south.  Ewell  was  on  the  former  and  Hill 
moved  on  the  latter  road,  and  by  Hill's  side  at  the 
head  of  the  column  rode  Lee,  while  his  cavalry  marched 
still  farther  to  the  right.  Grant  did  not  know  of  the 
proximity  of  the  Confederates,  though  Ewell's  advance 
had  bivouacked  on  the  night  of  the  4th  three  miles 
from  Warren's  corps,  which  was  at  the  intersection  of 
the  Germanna  road  with  the  old  turnpike,  called  Wil 
derness  Tavern.  So  on  the  5th  Grant  gave  orders  for 
his  army  to  move  in  two  columns — Fifth  and  Sixth 
Corps  from  Wilderness  Tavern  to  Parker's  Store,  where 
their  route  intersected  the  plank  road,  and  Hancock 
from  Chancellorsville  to  Shady  Grove  Church.  Warren, 
as  a  military  precaution,  threw  Griffin's  division  up  the 
old  turnpike  toward  Orange  Court  House  to  protect 
his  moving  column,  and  Ewell,  coming  down  the  pike 
about  this  time,  met  and  engaged  Griffin,  and  the  battle 
of  the  Wilderness  began,  for  shortly  thereafter  Hill  be 
came  engaged  with  a  force  at  Parker's  Store. 

Hancock,  whose  troops  formed  Grant's  left  advance, 
was  stopped,  and  the  heads  of  his  columns  turned  tow 
ard  Parker's  Store  to  meet  Hill.  Grant  discovered  that 
he  had  Lee's  army  on  his  right  marching  flank  and 
would  have  to  fight  in  the  Wilderness. 

As  Ewell  and  Warren  became  more  engaged,  lines 
of  battle  were  formed — Warren  in  the  center  and  Sedg- 
wick  on  his  right,  and  afterward  Hancock  on  his  left. 
On  the  plank  road  Hill's  left  did  not  connect  with 
Ewell's  right.  Getty's  division,  Sixth  Union  Corps,  was 
sent  first  to  retard  Hill's  progress,  and  then  Hancock's 
corps  arrived.  Ewell  and  Warren  had  their  encounter, 
and  then  Hancock  and  Hill  took  up  the  fighting.  War 
ren  gained  ground  at  first  against  Ewell,  but  was  in 
turn  driven  back  with  the  loss  of  three  thousand  men, 
while  Hancock's  vigorous  assaults  on  Hill's  two  divi 
sions  on  the  plank  road  were  successfully  resisted. 

Night  came  and  both  sides  prepared  for  the  morrow's 
desperate  battle,  when  Lee  and  Grant  each  proposed  to 
assume  the  offensive.  It  was  a  terrible  region  to  re 
ceive  or  deliver  battle :  thousands  of  acres  of  tangled 


330  GENERAL   LEE. 

forest,  interlaced  undergrowth,  scrub  oaks,  dwarf  pine 
and  cedar,  were  on  every  side,  with  here  and  there  a 
few  narrow  roads.  Grant  did  not  manoeuvre,  so  it 
suited  him  in  that  respect ;  but  his  preponderance  of 
numbers  could  not  be  made  effective,  and  his  men  were 
in  each  other's  way,  just  as  Hooker's  had  been  in  this 
same  Wilderness  nearer  to  Chancellorsville.  Artillery 
was  of  but  little  service,  mounted  cavalry  none ;  no 
man  could  command  the  battle,  because  no  man  saw  but 
a  few  yards  around  him.  Two  hundred  thousand  men 
were  mixed  up  in  a  wild,  weird  struggle,  like  a  hole  full 
of  snakes  with  their  tails  intertwined.  On  the  morning 
of  the  6th,  Sedgwick,  Warren,  Burnside  (now  up),  and 
Hancock  faced  Ewell  and  Hill,  while  Longstreet  was 
rapidly  marching  to  Hill's  position. 

Lee's  plan  was  to  feign  attack  on  Grant's  right  and 
assail  his  left  flank,  Grant's  to  attack  along  his  whole 
line.  Sedgwick  was  attacked  before  his  orders  required 
him  to  attack  ;  but  Longstreet  was  not  yet  up,  nor  was 
Anderson's  division  of  Hill's  corps.  So  Lee  had  to  wait 
on  his  right ;  but  Hancock  *  with  nearly  forty  thousand 
men  did  not  wait,  but  rushed  on  Heth  and  Wilcox's  divi 
sion  of  Hill's  corps,  and  finally  carried  their  whole  front 
and  drove  their  right  back  in  some  confusion.  Lee's 
right  wing  was  threatened  with  disaster;  neither  Long- 
street's  corps  nor  Anderson's  division  of  Hill's  had  ar 
rived.  The  former  left  his  camp  near  Gordonsville  at 
4  P.  M.  on  the  4th,  and  marched  that  afternoon  sixteen 
miles.  The  next  day,  when  Hill  and  Ewell  were  fight 
ing,  he  resumed  his  march,  lost  his  way,  had  to  retrace 
his  steps,  and  finally  went  into  camp  on  the  night  of 
the  5th  near  Verdiersville,  some  ten  miles  in  the  rear 
of  where  Hill  and  Ewell  had  been  fighting,  broke  camp 
at  12.30  A.M.  on  the  6th,  and  reached  Hill,  whose  two 
divisions  had  been  assailed  by  six  Federal  divisions 
under  Hancock,  just  in  time  to  save  Lee's  right. 

Lee  has  stated  since  the  war  f  that  he  sent  an  officer 
to  Longstreet  to  stay  with  him  and  show  him  the  roads, 

*  His  own  corps  and  Getty's  division  of  the  Sixth,  and  Wads- 
worth's  of  the  Second  Corps  ;  afterward  he  was  re-enforced  by  a  divis 
ion  of  the  Ninth  Corps. 

f  Told  his  son,  General  G.  W.  Custis  Lee. 


THE   CAMPAIGN   IN   VIRGINIA.  33! 

anticipating  he  would  move  him  when  Grant  crossed 
the  Rapidan,  but  Longstreet  discharged  him,  and,  by 
taking  the  wrong  road,  did  not  get  up  to  his  position 
until  May  6th,  when  he  might  have  joined  him  on  the 
5th.  Gordonsville  was  only  ten  miles  from  Orange  Court 
House  and  the  court  house  thirteen  from  Verdiersville, 
where  Longstreet  bivouacked  the  night  of  the  5th.  By 
the  route  he  should  have  marched  he  could  have  reached 
Verdiersville  in  twenty  miles.  He  consumed  one  day 
and  a  half  of  precious  time  in  getting  there.  Though  late 
in  his  arrival,  no  one  could  have  made  dispositions  to  as 
sume  the  offensive  with  more  celerity,  or  have  attacked 
with  more  promptness.  Hancock  was  now  in  turn  as 
sailed.  Holding  his  front  with  three  brigades  under 
Gregg,  Bennmg,  and  Law,  Longstreet  threw  four — viz., 
Mahone's,  G.  T.  Anderson's,  Wofford's,  and  Davis's — 
around  Hancock's  left  flank.  Attacked  in  flank  and 
front,  Hancock's  troops  were  routed  and  driven  rapidly 
back  three  quarters  of  a  mile  to  his  line  of  works. 

It  was  a  well-planned,  well-executed  movement.  As 
Longstreet  rode  down  the  plank  road  at  the  head  of  his 
column  he  came  opposite  to  his  brigades,  which  had 
made  the  flank  movement,  and  were  drawn  up  parallel  to 
the  plank  road  and  some  sixty  feet  from  it.  He  was 
mistaken  in  the  thick  woods  for  the  Federals,  and  a  vol 
ley  was  fired  at  him  by  his  own  men,  which  severely 
wounded  him  and  killed  General  Jenkins  by  his  side.  It 
was  most  unfortunate.  Jackson  at  Chancellorsville  had 
been  shot  down  by  his  troops  at  the  moment  of  victory, 
and  here  in  the  Wilderness  in  the  midst  of  a  deserved 
success,  and  when  Longstreet  had  given  orders  for  the 
advance  of  his  whole  force,  he,  too,  fell  by  the  fire  of 
his  own  men.  His  fall  arrested  the  movement.  R.  H. 
Anderson  was  taken  from  Hill's  corps  and  put  in  com 
mand  of  Longstreet's,  and  Mahone  given  Anderson's 
division ;  but  the  change  required  time. 

Lee  had  in  person  been  in  the  midst  of  Hill's  troops, 
restoring  confidence  and  order,  and  his  presence,  as  he 
rode  along  the  lines  on  his  gray  horse,  was  most  inspir 
ing.  In  splendid  style  the  troops  of  Longstreet  went 
into  battle.  As  the  Texans  swept  by  with  enthusiastic 
cheers  Lee  rode  with  them  in  the  charge  until  those 


332 


GENERAL   LEE. 


brave  fellows  insisted  he  should  go  back.  A  sergeant 
actually  seized  his  horse,  and  just  then  Colonel  Venable, 
of  his  staff,  called  his  attention  to  Longstreet  sitting  on 
his  horse  on  a  little  knoll  not  far  away,  and  he  rode  off 
and  joined  him.  The  Texas  soldiers  were,  like  "  Scipio's 
veterans,  ready  to  die  for  him  if  he  would  only  spare 
himself."  General  Lee  had  served  in  Texas  when  in  the 
United  States  Army,  and  was  familiar  with  the  State 
and  her  people  ;  he  had  the  highest  admiration  for  the 
Texas  troops,  as  the  whole  army  had.  They  were  de 
scendants  of  the  adventurous  spirits  who  first  settled 
Texas,  were  good  marksmen,  and  their  eyes  could  look 
down  a  gun  barrel  without  a  tremor  of  the  lid.  He 
asked  Senator  Wigfall,  of  Texas,  to  get  him  more  Tex- 
ans,  and  said  after  Sharpsburg  if  he  had  more  of  them 
he  would  feel  more  certain  of  results. 

Hancock's  troops  were  driven  behind  their  log  breast 
works,  upon  which  a  later  attack  failed.  The  same 
afternoon  Gordon,  with  three  brigades  of  Swell's  corps, 
made  a  successful  assault  on  Sedgwick's  line,  Wright's 
division;  but  night  stopped  the  contest.  During  the  day 
severe  combats  had  taken  place  between  the  cavalry  of 
the  two  armies  on  the  Furnace  and  Brock  roads  and  at 
Todd's  Tavern,  with  no  decisive  results.  Both  armies 
were  locked  in  their  temporary  breastworks.  Lee  could 
no  longer  hope  to  successfully  assail  the  immense  mass 
es  of  Grant,  and  on  Grant,  imperturbable  and  calm,  the 
impression  had  been  made  that  to  again  "  attack  along 
the  whole  line  "  would  be  hopeless.  It  was  a  terrible 
field  for  a  battle — a  region  of  tangled  underbrush,  ragged 
foliage,  and  knotted  trunks.  ''You  hear  the  saturnalia, 
gloomy,  hideous,  desperate,  raging  unconfined.  You  see 
nothing,  and  the  very  mystery  augments  the  horror; 
nothing  was  visible,  and  from  out  the  depths  came  the 
ruin  that  had  been  wrought  in  bleeding  shapes  borne 
in  blankets  or  on  stretchers."  The  Wilderness  was  a 
tract  of  gloom,  and  over  all  was  the  shadow  of  death. 
Grant  had  lost  *  seventeen  thousand  six  hundred  and 
sixty-six  men,  his  opponent  one  half  that  number.  Sci 
ence  had  little  to  do  with  such  a  struggle.  "  Two  wild 

*  Fifteen  thousand  three  hundred  and  eighty-seven. — Humphreys. 


THE   CAMPAIGN   IN  VIRGINIA. 


333 


animals  were  hunting  for  each  other ;  when  they  heard 
each  other's  footsteps  they  sprang  and  grappled."  It 
was  like  a  huge  Indian  fight,  and  different  from  any 
other  battle.  The  two  days'  contest  on  this  unique 
ground  can  be  compared  to  nothing  in  military  records, 
ancient  or  modern.  "  Charges  were  made  and  repulsed, 
the  men  in  the  lines  scarcely  seeing  each  other.  Sol 
diers  fell,  writhed,  and  died  unseen,  their  bodies  lost  in 
the  bushes,  their  death  groans  drowned  in  the  steady, 
continuous,  never-ceasing  crash." 

To  add  to  the  horrors,  the  woods  caught  fire  and 
many  wounded  men  perished  in  the  flames.  Lee's  army 
was  Grant's  objective  point,  but  the  objective  point 
sought  Grant,  and  the  latter,  after  remaining  in  its 
front  all  of  the  yth,  deliberately  marched  away  dur 
ing  the  night  and  attempted  to  interpose  between  it 
and  Richmond  at  the  strategic  point  of  Spottsylvania 
Court  House,  fifteen  miles  southeast  of  the  battlefield. 
His  infantry  did  not  begin  to  march  until  9  p.  M.  ;  but 
during  the  afternoon  a  portion  of  his  wagon  train  was 
first  moved  toward  Chancellorsville,  and  the  watchful 
Stuart,  who  had  cavalry  on  all  sides,  at  once  reported 
the  fact.  Lee  divined  Grant's  plans,  and  promptly  or 
dered  Anderson,  commanding  Longstreet's  corps,  to 
move  around  General  Hancock's  left  to  the  same  point. 

Warren,  the  Union  van,  was  much  delayed  during 
the  night.  Meade's  large  escort  was  first  in  his  way, 
and  then  Merritt's  cavalry,  which  was  preceding  his 
march,  failed  to  drive  the  Confederate  cavalry  in  his 
front,  but  finally  gave  the  right  of  way  to  Warren ; 
it  was  then  daylight.  Indeed,  so  effectual  was  the  re 
sistance  of  a  dismounted  division  of  Confederate  cav 
alry  that  Warren's  leading  division,  Robinson's,  did  not 
get  in  sight  of  Spottsylvania  Court  House  until  after 
8  A.  M.,  and  then  found  Anderson's  troops  in  his  front, 
which,  marching  by  a  parallel  road,  had  replaced  the 
cavalry  and  received  Robinson  with  a  savage  musketry 
fire,  severely  wounding  him  and  driving  back  his  line. 
As  the  Union  troops  came  up  they  formed  on  Warren, 
while  Anderson  formed  the  nucleus  for  Lee's  lines. 
The  race  had  been  finished,  and  Lee,  between  Grant  and 
Richmond,  cried  Check ! 


334  GENERAL   LEE. 

Both  armies  intrenched,  and  two  formidable  lines  of 
earthworks  sprang  into  existence.  For  twelve  days 
Grant  repeatedly  and  vainly  assaulted  at  different  points 
his  opponent's  position.  The  small  army  in  gray  stood 
as  immovable  as  the  mountains.  Twice  Grant  assailed 
on  the  8th  of  May,  five  times  on  the  loth,  and  on  the 
1 2th,  when  he  succeeded  in  carrying  a  salient.  On  the 
i8th  and  ipth  he  attacked  again.  Grant  lost  eighteen 
thousand  three  hundred  and  ninety-nine  men,  making 
forty  thousand*  in  the  two  weeks  of  overland  travel,  or 
in  numbers  equal  to  two  thirds  of  Lee's  whole  army. 
The  "  hammering  "  process  was  costly,  but  might  ulti 
mately  succeed  as  long  as  General  Lee  lost  one  man  to 
his  three,  because  the  Federal  reservoir  of  human  supply 
was  so  much  greater. 

Here  the  Union  commander  lost  one  of  his  best 
and  bravest  corps  commanders — John  Sedgwick,  of  the 
Sixth  Corps.  On  the  nth,  while  walking  along  a  por 
tion  of  his  line,  a  ball  from  the  gun  of  a  Confederate 
sharpshooter  pierced  his  cheek  under  the  left  eye.  A 
soldier  in  front  of  him  a  moment  before  dodged  to  the 
ground  as  he  heard  the  shrill  whistle  of  a  bullet.  Sedg 
wick  touched  him  gently  with  his  foot,  telling  him  to 
get  up,  he  was  ashamed  of  him,  and  remarked,  "  They 
could  not  hit  an  elephant  at  this  distance."  The  man 
rose,  saluted,  and  said,  f"  General,  I  dodged  a  shell  once, 
and  if  I  hadn't  it  would  have  taken  my  head  off."  Sedg 
wick  laughed  and  told  him  to  go  to  his  place  in  line,  and 
was  immediately  afterward  killed.  He  had  two  mourn 
ers — his  friend  and  his  foe.  With  Lee  and  others  who 
had  served  with  him  before  the  war  he  was  a  great 
favorite ;  he  was  so  true,  so  faithful  in  all  of  life's  rela 
tions.  In  his  death  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  lost  an 
arm.  General  Horatio  G.  Wright  succeeded  to  the  com 
mand  of  his  corps. 

The  Union  assault  of  the  i2th  was  partially  success 
ful.  There  was  a  salient  on  Ewell's  works,  and  its  V- 
shape  was  enwrapped  by  the  Federals.  Hancock's 
corps  was  brought  from  Grant's  right  during  the  stormy 
night  before  and  massed  twelve  hundred  yards  from  the 

*  Thirty-seven  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty-five. — Humphreys. 


THE  CAMPAIGN   IN  VIRGINIA.  335 

work,  and  at  half-past  four  in  the  morning,  with  Bar 
low's  and  Birney's  divisions  in  advance,  successfully  and 
gallantly  stormed  the  position,  capturing  General  Ed 
ward  Johnson,  one  of  Ewell's  division  commanders,  be 
tween  three  and  four  thousand  prisoners,  and  twenty 
pieces  of  artillery. 

Lee  had  detected  the  weak  point,  and  had  already 
commenced  a  line  across  the  base  of  the  triangle. 
It  was  well  conceived,  as  his  right  center  would  have 
been  pierced  and  his  army  divided.  This  second  line 
received  the  victorious  rush  of  the  Federals,  who 
were  in  turn  driven  back  with  great  slaughter  to  the 
salient,  where  the  fiercest  and  most  deadly  fighting  in 
the  war  took  place.  Lee  concentrated  his  efforts  to  re 
take  the  salient,  Grant  to  hold  it.  The  musketry  fire 
with  its  terrific  leaden  hail  was,  beyond  comparison, 
the  heaviest  of  the  four  years  of  war.  In  the  bitter 
struggle,  trees  large  and  small  fell,  cut  down  by  bullets. 
Grant  re-enforced  Hancock  by  the  Sixth  Corps  and  by 
two  of  Warren's  divisions,  after  failing  to  get  Warren 
and  Burnside  in  at  other  points.  He  then  had  over  half 
of  his  army — over  fifty  thousand  men — holding  on  to  the 
advantage  gained,  while  Lee,  equally  as  determined, 
purposed  to  retake  the  position.  Rodes's,  Ramseur's, 
and  Gordon's  troops,  three  brigades  under  McGowan, 
Perrin,  and  Harris,  and  two  battalions  of  artillery  were 
"put  in,"  and  all  day  the  savage  contest  raged. 

Late  in  the  night  Lee  drew  back  his  troops  on  the 
new  line.  On  the  nth  he  thought  Grant  was  prepar 
ing  for  another  move,  and  that  night  ordered  most  of 
the  cannon  out  of  the  salient  so  as  to  be  ready  for  a 
counter  move,  all  of  which  a  deserter  from  Johnson's 
line  reported,  and  which  may  account  for  the  assault 
which,  though  favored  by  a  climatic  condition,  was 
courageously  executed.  Johnson  during  the  night,  be 
coming  suspicious  of  ominous  sounds  in  his  front,  or 
dered  them  back,  but  was  attacked  before  getting  them 
in  position.  The  famous  salient  has  been  called  the 
"bloody  angle."  Some  trenches  almost  ran  with  blood, 
while  others  had  to  be  cleared  of  dead  bodies.  The  lips 
of  the  dead  were  incrusted  with  powder  from  biting 
cartridges.  It  was  a  horrible  scene.  Two  days  before 


336  GENERAL   LEE. 

Upton's  brigade  of  the  Sixth  Corps  broke  through  the 
Confederate  lines.  General  Lee  was  very  sensitive  about 
his  lines  being  broken.  It  made  him  more  than  ever 
personally  pugnacious,  and  ready  and  desirous  to  lead 
in  their  recapture. 

On  this  occasion  the  general  rode  to  the  head  of  the 
column  forming  for  the  charge,  took  off  his  hat,  and 
pointed  to  the  captured  line;  but  General  John  B.  Gor 
don  proposed  to  lead  his  own  men,  and  no  one  in  the 
army  could  do  it  better,  for  he  was  in  dash  and  dar 
ing  inferior  to  none.  "  These  are  Virginians  and  Georgi 
ans  who  have  never  failed,"  said  Gordon.  "  Go  to 
the  rear,  General  Lee."  And  appealing  to  his  men,  he 
cried :  "  Is  it  necessary  for  General  Lee  to  lead  this 
charge?"  "No,  no,"  they  exclaimed;  "we  will  drive 
them  back  if  General  Lee  will  go  to  the  rear."  The 
Union  troops  were  hurled  back  in  the  charge  that  fol 
lowed  and  the  line  re-established.  Grant  again  had  no 
alternative  but  to  flank — or  fall  back.  He  had  written 
Halleck,  addressing  him  as  "  Chief  of  the  Staff  of  the 
Army,"  that  he.  was  sending  back  his  wagons  for  a  fresh 
supply  of  provisions  and  ammunition,  and  proposed  "to 
fight  it  out  on  this  line  if  it  takes  all  the  summer,"  and 
asking  that  "  re-enforcements  be  sent  as  fast  as  possible, 
and  in  as  great  numbers."  Grant,  who  said  he  never 
manoeuvred,  states  in  his  official  report  that  from  the 
i2th  to  the  i8th  "was  consumed  in  manoeuvring  and 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  re-enforcements,"  which  to  the 
number  of  some  thirty-five  thousand  were  sent  to  him 
from  the  Middle  and  Washington  Departments. 

When  Grant  reached  Spottsylvania  Court  House  he 
determined  to  throw  Sheridan's  cavalry  corps  between 
Lee  and  Richmond,  tear  up  his  communication,  and  be 
in  position  to  dispatch  what  was  left  of  Lee  after  he  had 
crushed  him  in  Spottsylvania,  just  as  Hooker  had  pro 
posed  to  use  Stoneman  at  Chancellorsville.  So  on  the 
9th  of  May,  at  6  A.  M.,  Sheridan,  clearing  widely  Lee's 
right,  turned  toward  Richmond.  Ten  thousand  horsemen 
riding  on  a  single  road  in  columns  of  fours  made  a  col 
umn  thirteen  miles  in  length,  and  with  flashing  sabres 
and  fluttering  guidons  were  an  imposing  array.  Stuart 
was  not  long  in  ascertaining  and  following  the  move- 


THE   CAMPAIGN   IN   VIRGINIA.  337 

ment,  but  had  only  three  brigades  available  for  that 
purpose,  one  of  which,  a  small  North  Carolina  brigade, 
was  directed  to  follow  Sheridan's  rear,  while  the  other 
two,  riding  over  the  chord  of  the  arc  traveled  by  Sheri 
dan,  reached  Yellow  Tavern,  six  miles  from  Richmond, 
on  the  nth,  before  Sheridan,  and  were  thrown  directly 
across  his  route.  Here  a  fierce  though  most  unequal 
cavalry  combat  ensued,  the  numbers  of  the  contestants 
being  as  ten  thousand  to  three  thousand.  Nearly  all 
day  these  two  cavalry  brigades  held  their  ground  in 
Sheridan's  front,  while  General  James  B.  Gordon's  small 
force  attacked  his  rear,  losing  their  gallant  commander, 
giving  General  Bragg,  commanding  the  Richmond  de 
fenses,  ample  time  to  get  some  troops  from  below  Rich 
mond,  so  that  when  Sheridan  finally  broke  through  them 
and  arrived  in  front  of  the  defenses  his  valor  was  re 
placed  by  prudence,  and  he  marched  around  them, 
making  a  long  circuit,  and  rejoined  his  army  after  an 
absence  of  over  two  weeks.  It  would  have  been  the 
usual  record  of  nothing  accomplished  and  a  broken- 
down  command,  except  that  at  Yellow  Tavern  the  Con 
federate  cavalry  chieftain  was  mortally  wounded,  and 
died  the  following  day  in  Richmond.  This  sad  occur 
rence  was  more  valuable  to  the  Union  cause  than  any 
thing  that  could  have  happened,  and  his  loss  to  Lee  irre 
parable.  Stuart  was  the  "best  cavalry  officer,"  said 
General  Sedgwick,  the  late  Sixth  Corps  commander, 
who  had  been  an  officer  in  that  arm  of  service,  "  ever 
foaled  in  America."  He  was  the  army's  eyes  and  ears — 
vigilant  always,  bold  to  a  fault ;  of  great  vigor  and 
ceaseless  activity,  he  was  the  best  type  of  a  beau  sabreur. 
He  had  a  heart  ever  loyal  to  his  superiors,  and  "  duty  " 
was  "  the  sublimest  word  in  the  language  "  to  him. 

In  a  letter  from  Spottsylvania  Court  House,  May  16, 
1864,  General  Lee  said  to  his  wife :  "As  I  write  I  am 
expecting  the  sound  of  the  guns  every  moment.  I 
grieve  the  loss  of  our  gallant  officers  and  men,  and  miss 
their  aid  and  sympathy.  A  more  zealous^  ardent,  brave, 
and  devoted  soldier  than  Stuart  the  Confederacy  can  not 
have.  Praise  be  to  God  for  having  sustained  us  so  far. 
I  have  thought  of  you  very  often  in  these  eventful  days. 
God  bless  and  preserve  you  "  And  in  his  order,  May 


338  GENERAL   LEE. 

2oth,  announcing  the  death  of  Stuart  to  the  army,  he 
said:  "Among  the  gallant  soldiers  who  have  fallen  in 
this  war,  General  Stuart  was  second  to  none  in  valor,  in 
zeal,  and  in  unflinching  devotion  to  his  country.  His 
achievements  form  a  conspicuous  part  of  the  history  of 
this  army,  with  which  his  name  and  services  will  be  for 
ever  associated.  To  military  capacity  of  a  high  order 
and  to  the  nobler  virtues  of  the  soldier  he  added  the 
brighter  graces  of  a  pure  life,  guided  and  sustained  by 
the  Christian's  faith  and  hope.  The  mysterious  hand  of 
an  all-wise  God  has  removed  him  from  the  scene  of  his 
usefulness  and  fame.  His  grateful  countrymen  will 
mourn  his  loss  and  cherish  his  memory.  To  his  com 
rades  in  arms  he  has  left  the  proud  recollections  of  his 
deeds  and  the  inspiring  influence  of  his  example." 

Lee  was  much  attached  to  Stuart  and  greatly  lament 
ed  his  death ;  he  had  been  a  classmate  and  friend  at 
West  Point  of  his  son  Custis,  and  his  whole  family  were 
fond  of  him.  In  his  tent  in  the  hours  of  the  night,  when 
he  knew  not  what  the  morrow  would  bring  forth,  his 
thoughts  constantly  turned  to  the  great  cavalryman 
whose  saber  had  been  sheathed  ^orever.  Stuart's  su 
perb  personal  gallantry  was  conspicuous  to  the  last.  His 
death  wound  was  received  while  from  the  back  of  his 
horse  he  was  steadying  dismounted  men  by  words  of 
encouragement,  and  firing  his  pistol  over  their  heads  at 
the  Federal  cavalry  in  close  proximity. 

Once  more  General  Grant,  "deeming  it  impractica 
ble,"  he  said,  to  make  any  further  attack  upon  the  enemy 
at  Spottsylvania  Court  House,  drew  his  troops  from  Lee's 
front  on  the  night  of  the  2oth  and  started  on  another 
flank  march,  this  time  for  the  North  Anna;  but  when  his 
leading  corps,  the  Fifth,  reached  that  stream  on  the  after 
noon  of  the  23d  Lee  was  there  too,  still  between  his  capi 
tal  and  his  enemy,  where  he  again  exclaimed,  Check  ! 
To  Mrs.  Lee,  from  Hanover  Junction,  May  23,  1864,  the 
general  wrote :  "  General  Grant,  having  apparently  be 
come  tired  of  forcing  his  passage  through,  began  on  the 
night  of  the  2oth  to  move  around  our  right  toward  Bowl 
ing  Green,  placing  the  Mattapony  River  between  us. 
Fearing  he  might  unite  with  Sheridan  and  make  a  sud 
den  and  rapid  move  upon  Richmond,  I  determined  to 


THE   CAMPAIGN   IN   VIRGINIA. 


339 


march  to  this  point  so  as  to  be  in  striking  distance  of 
Richmond,  and  be  able  to  intercept  him.  The  army  is 
now  south  of  the  North  Anna.  We  have  the  advantage 
of  being  nearer  our  supplies  and  less  liable  to  have  our 
communication  trains,  etc.,  cut  by  his  cavalry,  and  he  is 
getting  farther  from  his  base.  Still,  I  begrudge  every 
step  he  takes  toward  Richmond."  Lee's  position  south 
of  the  North  Anna  River  was  an  admirable  one,  and  his 
defensive  lines  showed  the  skill  of  the  engineer.  Grant 
crossed  his  army  at  two  points  some  miles  apart.  Lee 
kept  his  center  on  the  river,  but  retired  his  wings  so  that 
the  Union  forces  in  front  of  them  were  separated  from 
each  other,  and  could  only  hold  communication  by  cross 
ing  the  river  twice  or  by  breaking  through  his  army.  It 
was  his  intention  to  assume  the  offensive  here,  and  to 
strike  Grant  a  stunning  blow ;  but,  unfortunately,  he  was 
taken  ill.  Colonel  Venable,  of  his  staff,  writes  that  as 
he  lay  in  his  tent  he  would  say  in  his  impatience :  "  We 
must  strike  them.  We  must  never  let  them  pass  us 
again."  He  wanted  to  seize  the  advantage  of  his  posi 
tion.  Warren,  on  the  right  of  Grant's  army  and  Han 
cock  on  the  left,  supposed,  after  crossing  the  river,  they 
could  unite,  but  were  totally  unprepared  to  find  Lee's 
lines  of  battle  between  them.  The  Confederate  army 
was  posted  upon  two  long  lines  of  an  obtuse-angle, 
whose  strong  apex  rested  on  the  river.  It  had  received 
its  first  re-enforcements  in  the  force  under  Breckinridge 
and  Pickett's  division,  and  Hoke's  brigade  of  Early's 
division — in  all  seventy-five  hundred  men.  And  the 
whole  army  was  in  good  condition ;  but  its  commanding 
general  was  ill,  and  so  was  one  of  his  corps  commanders, 
while  another  had  been  disabled  by  wounds.  Lee's 
sickness  made  it  "  manifest  he  was  the  head  and  front, 
the  very  life  and  soul  of  his  army." 

Grant  did  not  like  his  North  Anna  situation.  He  said 
he  found  Lee's  position  stronger  than  either  of  the  two 
previous  ones,  so  he  withdrew  "  during  the  night  of  the 
26th  and  moved  via  Hanovertown  to  turn  the  enemy's 
position  by  his  right."  Hanovertown  is  on  the  Pamunkey 
River,  which  is  formed  by  the  North  Anna  and  South 
Anna;  the  Mattapony  is  formed  by  the  junction  of  the 
Mat,  Ta,  Po,  and  Ny,  and  the  two  make  the  York.  When 


340 


GENERAL   LEE. 


Grant  crossed  the  Pamunkey  and  marched  south  he  was 
on  the  Peninsula,  and  when  his  advance  reached  Cold 
Harbor  on  May  3ist  he  was  on  McClellan's  former 
grounds.  Across  his  path,  and  once  more  between  him 
and  Richmond,  was  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  Its 
commander  was  again  in  the  saddle,  and  again  he  heard 
Check!  The  duty  of  keeping  from  his  capital  an  army 
nearly  three  times  as  great  in  number  as  his  own  was 
an  occupation  sufficient  to  employ  all  the  military  skill 
of  Lee;  but  so  great  were  the  resources  of  the  United 
States  Government  that  it  was  able  to  converge  several 
armies  on  the  one  objective — Richmond.  Butler  was 
to  concentrate  the  troops  of  his  department,  largely  re- 
enforced  from  detachments  hitherto  operating  in  the 
South,  and  march  on  Petersburg,  twenty  miles  south 
of  Richmond,  destroy  the  railroads  running  south,  and 
invest  the  Confederate  capital  from  his  side  of  the 
James,  so  as  to  be  in  position  to  co-operate  with  Grant 
when  his  conquering  banners  should  wave  from  the  other 
side.  The  columns  of  Crook  and  Averell  were  to  debouch 
from  West  Virginia,  and  Sigel  to  advance  up  the  great 
Valley  of  Virginia,  capture  Staunton,  Charlottesville,  and 
Lynchburg,  and  then  be  guided  by  future  instructions. 

But  the  co-operating  armies  did  not  co-operate; 
Butler,  with  an  army  of  over  thirty  thousand  men, 
"  marched  up  the  hill  and  then  marched  down  again." 
On  transports  he  conveyed  his  troops  up  the  James 
River,  landed  them  at  City  Point,  and  above,  at  Ber 
muda  Hundred,  in  the  angle  between  the  junction  of 
the  Appomattox  River  flowing  from  Petersburg  and  the 
James  from  Richmond,  and  intrenched  across  the  nar 
row  neck  of  land  on  a  line  some  three  miles  only  from 
the  Richmond  and  Petersburg  Railroad,  less  than  ten 
from  Petersburg  and  twenty  from  Richmond.  Here  he 
established  his  entrepdt  of  supplies,  and  from  this  base 
proceeded  to  play  his  part  in  the  campaign  drama.  He 
was  too  slow,  for  after  some  preliminary  success,  just  as 
he  was  about  to  achieve  fame,  he  was  attacked  by 
Beauregard  on  the  morning  of  the  i6th,  and  driven 
within  his  fortified  lines,  in  front  of  which  Beauregard 
threw  up  works  stretching  from  river  to  river.  He  was 
caged,  so  far  as  any  further  advance  from  that  point 


THE   CAMPAIGN   IN   VIRGINIA. 


341 


could  be  made,  for  Beauregard  had  locked  him  up  and 
put  the  key  in  his  pocket,  or,  as  General  Barnard, 
Grant's  chief  engineer,  expressed  it — and  General  Grant 
adopted  the  phrase  in  his  .report — he  was  in  a  bottle 
which  Beauregard  had  corked,  and  with  a  small  force 
could  hold  the  cork  in  place.  Beauregard  had  been 
brought  from  the  Southern  Department,  and  his  com 
mand  consisted  of  detachments  from  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  and  other  points.  His  plans  to  defeat  Butler 
were  most  skillfully  arranged,  and  would  have  been 
crowned  with  great  success  but  for  the  unpardonable 
and  admitted  nonaction  of  one  of  his  division  generals, 
to  whom  had  been  confided  the  duty  of  cutting  off  Gen 
eral  Butler's  retreat. 

Sigel,  the  Valley  co-operator,  with  sixty-five  hundred 
men,  was  defeated  by  Breckinridge  with  five  thousand 
troops  on  May  i5th  at  New  Market,  the  day  before 
Beauregard  beat  Butler,  in  which  he  was  greatly  as 
sisted  by  a  battalion  of  cadets  from  the  Virginia  Mili 
tary  Institute  at  Lexington,  Va.  The  boys  were  trans 
formed  by  the  crash  of  arms,  roar  of  cannon,  and 
shouts  of  combatants,  into  young  heroes,  and  displayed 
marked  heroism.  The  cadets  of  the  Virginia  Military 
Institute  are  responsible  for  the  fact  that  many  soldiers 
fought  for  the  last  time  "  mit  Sigel."  Breckinridge  was 
then  called  to  Lee,  and  General  David  Hunter  replaced 
Sigel  in  command  in  the  Valley,  with  whom  Crook  and 
Averell  later  united. 

When  General  Lee  faced  Grant  at  Cold  Harbor, 
Butler  was  still  "  bottled  up  " ;  but  twelve  thousand  five 
hundred  of  his  force  under  General  "  Baldy  "  Smith,  as 
he  was  called,  had  been  taken  out  from  the  bottom  of 
the  bottle,  placed  on  transports,  carried  down  the  James 
and  up  the  York,  landed,  and  marched  to  Grant.  Lee 
was  also  re-enforced  by  a  division  of  North  Carolinians. 
On  June  ist,  at  5  p.  M.,  Smith's  command  and  the  Sixth 
Corps  attacked,  the  other  corps  being  held  by  Grant  in 
readiness  to  advance  on  receipt  of  orders.  The  Con 
federate  thick  skirmish  or  preliminary  line  was  carried, 
but  the  main  position  was  immovable,  of  which,  after 
the  loss  of  two  thousand  men,  Smith  and  Wright  became 

convinced.     "  The  2d  of  June,"  says  Grant,  "  was  spent 
23 


342  GENERAL   LEE. 

in  getting  troops  into  position  for  attack  on  the  3d ;  on 
the  3d  of  June  we  again  assaulted  the  enemy's  work  in 
the  hope  of  driving  him  from  his  position.  In  this  at 
tempt  our  loss  was  heavy  while  that  of  the  enemy,  I 
have  reason  to  believe,  was  comparatively  light." 

This  remarkable  assault  deserves  more  attention 
than  the  brief  statement  in  which  Grant  disposes  of  it. 
Its  isolation  on  the  pages  of  history  as  the  most  ex 
traordinary  blunder  in  military  annals  will  alone  make 
it  famous.  Nearly  all  of  the  one  hundred  and  thirteen 
thousand  troops  then  at  Cold  Harbor,  in  double  lines  of 
battle  six  miles  long,  sprang  to  arms  at  half-past  four 
on  the  morning  of  the  3d,  and,  in  obedience  to  the  cus 
tomary  order  "to  attack  along  the  whole  line,"  assailed 
the  army  of  Lee  and  were  terribly  slaughtered  at  every 
point.  There  has  been  no  instance  of  such  destructive 
firing  attended  with  such  small  loss  to  the  men  who 
were  shooting  from  stationary  lines.  The  troops  went 
forward,  said  Hancock,  "as  far  as  the  example  of  their 
officers  could  carry  them  " ;  but  that  was  not  far,  for 
eight  or  ten  minutes  was  the  time  of  actual  advance — 
sixty  minutes  of  battle  from  first  to  last.  Grant  seemed 
willing  to  submit  everything  to  the  "nice  hazard  of  a 
doubtful  hour."  Death  and  destruction  everywhere 
enveloped  charging  columns,  and  direct  and  cross  fires 
tore  them  to  pieces.  Lee's  men  were  hungry  and  mad : 
three  hard  biscuits  and  one  piece  of  fat  pork  were  all 
the  rations  many  had  obtained  since  leaving  the  North 
Anna,  and  the  pork  was  eaten  raw  because  cooking  in 
volved  waste.  One  cracker  to  a  man,  with  no  meat,  be 
came  a  luxury,  and  the  lament  of  a  poor  fellow  who  had 
his  shot  out  of  his  hand  before  he  could  eat  it  was  ludi 
crous:  "The  next  time  I'll  put  my  cracker  in  a  safe 
place  down  by  the  breastworks  where  it  won't  get 
wounded,  poor  thing!  "  said  he. 

In  front  of  the  Confederate  defenses  the  scene  was 
heartrending.  The  ground  was  strewn  with  the  dead, 
dying,  and  wounded  Federals,  and  yet  at  8  A.  M.  an  order 
came  from  the  chief  of  staff  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
for  the  corps  to  assault  again,  each  without  reference  to 
the  other's  advance.  It  is  known  that  "  Baldy  "  Smith 
positively  refused  to  obey  it,  while  some  of  the  other 


THE   CAMPAIGN   IN  VIRGINIA. 


343 


corps  commanders  went  through  the  form  of  opening 
fire,  but  there  was  no  advance.  Again  the  order  was 
given  for  a  general  assault.  It  was  transmitted  to  corps 
commanders,  from  them'  to  the  division  chiefs,  down 
through  brigades  to  regiments ;  but  immobile  ranks 
entered  a  solemn  protest  against  human  butchery,  and 
men  who  had  charged  to  the  cannon's  mouth  when  there 
was  a  chance  for  victory  lay  in  long  lines  as  still  as  their 
dead  comrades.  The  rank  and  file  knew  the  hopeless 
ness  of  another  attack  upon  Lee's  lines ;  they  had  been 
there,  and  did  not  propose  to  make  another  useless, 
bloody  experiment.  In  an  incredibly  short  time  twelve 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty-seven  of  their  num 
ber  had  dropped  from  their  ranks.  Who  knew  how 
many  would  fail  to  answer  roll  call  after  another  attack  ? 
"Cold  Harbor,"  said  General  Grant  after  the  war,  "is 
the  only  battle  I  ever  fought  that  I  would  not  fight  over 
again  under  the  circumstances."  Wellington,  victorious 
at  Waterloo,  said  to  Lord  Fitzroy :  "  I  have  never 
fought  such  a  battle,  and  I  trust  I  shall  never  fight 
such  another."  Lee  proudly  stood  at  the  gate  of  his 
capital.  If  Grant  was  going  to  fight  it  out  on  that 
line,  he  must  enter  there.  Another  flank  move  would 
carry  him  farther  from  his  objective,  so  he  determined 
to  lay  siege  to  Lee's  position  and  dig  up  to  it,  and  began 
the  construction  of  parallels  united  by  zigzag  trenches, 
the  work  on  which  had  to  be  done  at  night ;  but  he  soon 
gave  up  the  substitution  of  spades  and  picks  for  guns 
and  determined  to  move  his  army  south  of  James  River, 
and  on  the  night  of  June  i2th  began  the  movement. 

Five  days  before,  he  sent  Sheridan  on  an  expedition 
against  the  railroad  which  runs  from  Richmond  to 
Charlottesville  and  Staunton,  as  well  as  to  meet  Hunter, 
who  was  expected  from  the  Valley,  and  conduct  him  to 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Sheridan  started  on  the  yth 
with  the  divisions  of  Gregg  and  Torbert,  ten  thousand 
strong,  in  light  marching  order ;  two  days'  "  short  for 
age,"  three  days'  rations,  and  one  hundred  rounds  of 
ammunition  were  carried  by  each  trooper.  On  the  even 
ing  of  the  loth  Sheridan  bivouacked  three  miles  from 
Trevilian's  Station  in  Louisa  County.  Hampton,  with 
a  division  of  cavalry,  moved  at  once  after  him,  while 
23 


344  GENERAL   LEE. 

another  division  speedily  followed ;  with  these  two  di 
visions  Hampton  intercepted  Sheridan  at  Trevilian's, 
and  interposed  between  him  and  Charlottesville.  Here 
he  was  attacked  on  the  i2th  by  Sheridan,  all  of  whose 
assaults — principally  apon  General  Butler's  command — 
were  handsomely  repulsed,  and  that  night  Sheridan 
started  back  to  his  army,  having  accomplished  nothing. 
Hampton,  with  half  of  his  numbers,  was  not  strong 
enough  to  seriously  interrupt  his  retrograde  movement. 

After  the  battle  of  Cold  Harbor,  Lee  had  such  great 
confidence  in  his  ability  to  keep  Grant  from  getting 
closer  to  Richmond  that  he  detached  Breckinridge  to 
meet  Hunter,  who,  having  defeated  the  small  Confeder 
ate  force  in  the  Valley,  under  W.  E.  Jones,  was  advanc 
ing  via  Staunton  and  Lexington  to  Lynchburg.  On  the 
i3th  he  sent  Early  with  the  Second  Corps  (Swell's), 
eight  thousand  muskets  and  twenty-four  pieces  of  artil 
lery,  to  join  him.  Lee  then  crossed  the  James,  and  on 
that  night  his  tent  was  pitched  near  Drewry's  Bluff. 
Grant  had  sent  Smith's  troops  around  by  water,  down 
the  York  and  up  the  James  to  City  Point,  with  orders 
to  try  and  capture  Petersburg,  and  on  the  morning  of 
the  i5th  Smith  was  in  front  of  the  lines  there.  He  was 
slow  and  cautious.  That  afternoon  Lee's  army  began 
to  arrive,  any  opportunity  to  capture  the  city  by  a  coup 
de  main  was  gone,  and  the  siege  of  Petersburg,  destined 
to  last  ten  long,  weary  months,  began.  The  campaign 
from  the  Wilderness  to  Petersburg  was  brilliantly  con 
ducted  on  Lee's  part.  It  was  a  magnificent  exhibition 
of  defensive  warfare. 

For  one  month  his  gigantic  opponent  fought  him 
over  nearly  every  mile  between  the  Rapidan  and  the 
James.  Practically  every  soldier  in  Lee's  army  placed 
hors  de  combat  a  soldier  in  Grant's,  for  the  latter's  losses 
equaled  in  numbers  the  strength  of  the  former's  com 
mand.  Colonel  Taylor,  General  Lee's  able  adjutant 
general,  places  the  number  of  re-enforcements  Lee  re 
ceived  in  the  thirty  days' campaign  at  fourteen  thousand 
four  hundred  men,  which,  added  to  his  original  strength, 
gives  seventy-eight  thousand  four  hundred  as  the  ag 
gregate  of  all  troops  under  his  command  from  the  Wil 
derness  to  Cold  Harbor.  And  to  Grant,  Taylor  assigns 


THE  CAMPAIGN   IN  VIRGINIA.  345 

fifty-one  thousand  during  the  same  period,  giving  him 
an  aggregate  under  his  command  from  the  Wilderness 
to  Cold  Harbor  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-two  thou 
sand  one  hundred  and  sixty  men.  This  is  a  marvelous 
monument  to  the  skill  of  Lee  and  the  courage  of  his 
troops.  Grant's  hammering  process  was  expensive  in 
time  and  men.  It  took  him  thirty  days  to  march  sev 
enty-five  miles,  at  a  loss  of  sixty  odd  thousand  men,  and 
then  he  was  only  on  ground  reached  by  McClellan  with 
out  firing  a  gun,  if  we  except  the  affair  at  Williamsburg. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

SIEGE    OF    PETERSBURG. 

RICHMOND,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  James,  and  Peters 
burg,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Appomattox,  were  stra 
tegic  twin  cities  twenty-one  miles  apart.  The  capture 
of  one  embraced  the  fall  of  the  other.  Richmond 
proper,  from  a  point  on  the  river  below  to  a  position 
on  the  river  above,  was  easily  defended.  Its  investment 
would  still  leave  the  Weldon,  Lynchburg,  or  Southside, 
and  Danville  Railroad  open  for  supplies.  Circumval- 
lating  lines  around  Petersburg  would  ultimately  close 
all  of  them;  this  done,  Richmond  must  be  evacuated. 
But  were  it  possible  to  capture  Richmond  first,  to  Burke- 
ville,  the  junction  of  the  Southside  and  Danville  roads, 
the  Southern  army  must  retreat,  not  to  Petersburg. 

Grant,  though  not  remarkable  as  a  strategist,  prompt 
ly  saw  the  way  to  reach  the  Confederate  capital.  To 
reach  Richmond  it  was  necessary  to  batter  down  the 
gates  of  Petersburg.  Butler  made  several  attempts  to 
capture  the  city  before  Grant  took  him  under  his  charge, 
but  failed.  Grant,  having  decided  to  cross  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  to  the  south  side  of  the  James,  deter 
mined  to  essay  the  capture  of  Petersburg  before  Lee — 
who  had  drawn  most  of  Beauregard's  force  to  him  on 
the  north  side — could  prevent  it,  and  would  have  been 
successful  if  he  had  not  lost  a  day  in  getting  his  pon 
toons  ready;  and  even  then  it  could  have  been  done  if 
General  Smith,  of  the  Eighteenth  Corps,  to  whom  the 
duty  was  confided,  had  attacked  when  he  arrived  before 
it.  Beauregard  was  in  peril.  He  had  re-enforced  Lee, 
but  Lee  had  not  yet  returned  the  compliment,  and  when 
"  Baldy  "  Smith  began  to  deploy  on  his  front,  about  ten 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  June  i5th,  with  eighteen 

(346) 


SIEGE   OF   PETERSBURG.  347 

thousand  men,  he  had  but  twenty-two  hundred  soldiers 
to  return  his  greetings,  and  had  to  station  them  so  as 
to  allow  one  man  for  every  four  yards  and  a  half  of  his 
works.  At  7  P.  M.  Smith  carried  with  a  "  cloud  of 
tirailleurs  "  the  lines  on  a  portion  of  his  front,  in  spite 
of  the  heroic  resistance  of  General  Henry  A.  Wise,  and 
held  on  to  them  during  the  night.  Had  Hancock,  who 
was  on  the  morning  of  the  i5th  on  the  south  side  of  the 
James,  been  ordered  to  Petersburg,  he  could  have  been 
there  by  twelve  or  one  o'clock,  and  Petersburg  would 
have  certainly  fallen.  Meade  knew  nothing  of  Smith's 
proposed  coup  de  main,  nor  did  Hancock,  until  he  received 
orders  at  half-past  five  that  afternoon  to  join  General 
Smith,  reaching  his  position  about  dark,  after  he  had 
made  a  lodgment. 

About  the  same  time  Hoke's  division,  from  Drewry's 
Bluff,  re-enforced  Beauregard.  On  the  morning  of  the 
i6th  Hancock  was  in  command  of  the  operating  troops, 
but  was  instructed  by  Meade  not  to  attack  until  Burn- 
side  arrived  with  his  corps.  He  reached  the  field  at  10 
A.  M.,  but  Hancock  did  not  attack  until  after  5  P.  M.  In 
the  meantime  Beauregard  drew  to  him  Bushrod  Johnson's 
division,  who  had  been  playing  the  cork  to  the  Butler 
bottle  in  front  of  the  Bermuda  lines.  But  the  inequality 
in  numbers  was  still  very  great — Beauregard  then  hav 
ing  ten  thousand,  and  Hancock  fifty-three  thousand. 
For  three  hours  the  battle  raged,  and  at  night  the  re 
sult  was  a  serious  loss  on  the  Southern  right,  but  Beau- 
regard  gained  some  advantage  on  the  left.  Warren 
had  now  arrived,  but  too  late  for  the  attack,  making  the 
Federal  army  in  front  of  Petersburg  sixty-seven  thou 
sand.  All  day  on  the  iyth  the  contest  was  maintained 
with  no  decisive  results.  About  dusk  a  portion  of  the 
Confederate  tines  was  wholly  broken,  which  might  have 
ended  in  irreparable  disaster ;  but  at  the  opportune  mo 
ment  a  fine  brigade,  under  General  Gracie,  an  excellent 
officer,  reached  the  scene  from  Chaffin's  Bluff,  leaped 
the  breastworks  captured  by  Burnside,  and  drove  out 
his  troops,  capturing  two  thousand  prisoners. 

Petersburg  was  still  in  danger.  Fortunately,  Beau- 
regard's  engineering  skill,  as  well  as  that  of  his  chief  of 
engineers,  Colonel  D.  B.  Harris,  was  brought  into  requi- 


348  GENERAL   LEE. 

sition,  and  during  the  day  selected  the  site  of  another 
and  shorter  line  of  defense,  near  Taylor's  Creek,  to  his 
rear,  and  at  midnight  successfully  made  a  retrograde 
movement,  occupied  and  began  fortifying  his  new  line. 
On  the  i8th  a  general  assault  on  the  Southern  lines 
was  ordered  at  an  early  hour,  but  finding  the  old  line 
had  been  abandoned,  it  was  not  made  until  noon — then 
only  partially  ;  but  about  6  p.  M.  the  "predetermined 
great  attack,"  as  Beauregard  called  it,  was  made  by  the 
Second  Corps  and  everywhere  repulsed,  as  were  like 
attempts  later  by  the  Fifth  and  Ninth.  Hancock's, 
Burnside's,  and  Warren's  corps,  Martindale's  division 
of  Smith's,  and  Neill's  division  from  the  Sixth  Corps — 
or  ninety  thousand  effectives — were  present,  while  on 
that  day  Beauregard  had  been  re-enforced  by  Kershaw's 
and  Field's  division  of  Longstreet's  corps,  making  his 
total  twenty  thousand. 

At  half-past  eleven  General  Lee  rode  up  and  was 
warmly  welcomed  by  Beauregard,  who  had  been  anx 
iously  hoping  to  see  him  for  three  days.  He  had  been 
very  slow  in  giving  credence  to  Beauregard's  telegrams 
about  Grant's  movements,  and  even  as  late  as  the  night 
of  the  iyth  dispatched,  "Am  not  yet  satisfied  as  to 
General  Grant's  movements,  but  upon  your  representa 
tions  will  move  at  once  on  Petersburg."  And  it  was 
well  he  did,  for  the  remarkable  resistance  of  Beaure 
gard's  troops  alone  saved  the  city  from  capture  on  the 
i5th,  i6th,  and  lyth.  It  was  very  difficult  for  Lee  to 
ascertain  on  the  north  side  of  the  James  what  troops 
Grant  was  crossing  to  its  southern  side,  because  his 
crossing  was  masked  by  the  presence  of  troops  inter 
posed  between  the  point  of  crossing  and  Lee's  position ; 
and  he  had  to  be  most  careful  lest,  in  his  anxiety  to  save 
Petersburg,  he  would  lose  Richmond.  He  could  not 
afford  to  take  the  risk  of  denuding  the  Richmond  lines 
until  it  had  been  demonstrated  beyond  doubt  that  the 
real  battle  was  to  be  delivered  at  Petersburg.  The 
admirably  selected  new  line  of  Beauregard  was  strength 
ened,  and  maintained  until  the  end  of  the  war. 

The  next  day  the  main  portion  of  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia  arrived,  and  Beauregard  wanted  to 
throw  the  entire  disposable  force  on  the  Union  left 


SIEGE   OF   PETERSBURG. 


349 


and  rear  before  they  began  to  fortify ;  but  General  Lee 
pronounced  against  the  plan.  Grant  and  Meade,  satis 
fied  that  nothing  more  could  be  gained  by  direct  assaults 
— ten  thousand  men  had  been  lost  in  three  days — de 
cided  to  play  another  game  for  the  prize  in  which  spades 
should  be  trumps,  and  the  siege  of  Petersburg  began. 
In  an  incredibly  short  time  high,  impregnable,  bastioned 
works  began  to  erect  their  crests.  It  was  designed  to 
make  the  Union  defensive  lines  so  formidable  as  to  be 
unassailable.  A  system  of  redans  chained  together  by 
powerful  parapets,  whose  approaches  were  to  be  ob 
structed  by  abatis,  were  constructed.  Behind  these 
gigantic  earthworks  a  small  force  could  safely  remain, 
and  thus  the  "loyal  legions  "  could  be  drawn  out  at  any 
time  for  other  work.  The  Federal  plan,  wisely  adopted, 
was  to  extend  their  ramparts  south,  then  west,  to  seize 
and  retain  the  Weldon  Railroad  and  cut  off  Lee's  com 
munication  with  the  coast  States,  then  gradually  work 
westerly  toward  the  Lynchburg  Railroad,  which  once  in 
Grant's  possession,  would  have  confined  Lee  to  the  Dan 
ville  and  Richmond  Railroads  to  supply  his  army.  The 
short  road  from  Petersburg  to  Richmond  connected  him 
with  it  and  the  Staunton  road,  running  north  from  Rich 
mond.  It  was  intended  to  throw  a  huge  steel  cordon 
around  Petersburg,  which  would  force  Lee  with  his  lim 
ited  numbers  to  so  extend  his  lines  that  they  would 
snap  or  be  weak  enough  to  break  under  blows. 

Grant  had  now  established  his  troops  in  the  best  loca 
tion  for  the  achievement  of  his  purpose.  With  bloody 
hands  he  had  reached  the  confines  of  the  object  of  his 
campaign ;  but  he  was  there  and  most  excellently  situ 
ated  ;  his  water  line  of  communication  down  the  James 
and  up  the  Potomac  with  Washington  and  the  North  was 
absolutely  free  from  hostile  interruption.  His  headquar 
ters — City  Point,  at  the  junction  of  the  Appomattox  and 
the  James — was  connected  with  his  army  by  rail,  and 
from  a  point  on  that  road  a  field  railroad,  moving  in  the 
rear  of  his  lines,  made  the  transportation  of  supplies 
from  his  water  base  easy  in  sunshine  or  storm.  Field 
telegraph  connected  army  headquarters  with  those  of 
subordinate  commanders;  so  with  plenty  of  commis 
sary,  quartermaster,  and  medical  supplies,  and  plenty  of 


350  GENERAL   LEE. 

men,  he  anticipated  with  confidence  future  success.  At 
Deep  Bottom,  on  the  James,  he  had  thrown  a  pontoon 
bridge  and  protected  it  by  strongly  fortified  works  on 
the  north  side,  manned  by  a  sufficient  force  to  defend 
them,  thus  always  securing  a  debouch  on  the  Richmond 
side  of  the  river.  He  could  thus  make  a  mock  assault  on 
Richmond  and  a  real  attack  at  Petersburg,  or  the  reverse. 
General  Lee  was  uneasy  ;  he  was  defending  two  cities 
and  a  line  of  intrenchments  enveloping  both  thirty-five 
miles  long,  and  could  not  know  with  certainty  at  what 
point  on  them  the  real  blow  would  be  delivered.  Grant's 
troops  withdrawn  from  one  portion  of  his  front  at  night, 
could  appear  at  another  before  the  sun  lifted  the  mists 
of  morning.  Lee  too  had  communication  with  the  Rich 
mond  defenses  by  a  pontoon  bridge  above  Grant's  at 
Drewry's  Bluff,  but  in  any  movement  of  troops  across 
the  river  Grant,  if  the  aggressor,  would  move  first  and 
thereby  gain  a  start.  Then,  too,  Lee's  days  were  full 
of  other  troubles :  the  question  of  supplies,  always  a 
serious  one,  was  growing  daily  more  so.  The  subjuga 
tion  of  productive  portions  of  the  South  and  the  de 
vastation  of  other  sections  made  the  collection  of  food 
for  men  and  forage  for  animals  more  difficult  than  ever. 
The  supply  of  men  was  exhausted.  Conscription  in 
1862  first  placed  on  the  rolls  all  men  between  eighteen 
and  thirty-five,  and  later  between  thirty-five  and  forty. 
After  Gettysburg  and  Vicksburg,  a  call  was  made  for 
men  between  forty  and  forty-five,  and  in  February, 
1864,  the  Conscript  Act  was  more  stringent,  and  the 
population  between  seventeen  and  fifty  were  made  sub 
ject  to  call — "a  robbery,"  designated  at  the  time,  "of 
the  cradle  and  the  grave."  The  end  of  conscription 
had  been  reached.  The  currency  in  the  Confederate 
Treasury  was  in  value  as  sixty  to  one  of  coin.  A  de 
ficiency  in  supply  of  arms  and  ammunition  was  immi 
nent.  The  Ordnance  Department  contained  only  twenty- 
five  thousand  stand  of  small  arms  for  the  whole  Con 
federacy  ;  the  foreign  market  supplied  one  half  of  the 
arms  used,  but  that  market  was  nearly  cut  off ;  many 
workshops  had  been  destroyed,  and  the  usefulness  of 
others  much  impaired  by  the  withdrawal  of  details  of 
men. 


SIEGE  OF  PETERSBURG. 


351 


Then  General  Lee  was  distressed  at  the  condition  of 
his  army.  It  had  been  exposed  in  a  violent  campaign 
against  overwhelming  numbers,  was  badly  fed — a  pound 
of  flour  and  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  meat  to  the  man — 
badly  paid  and  cared  for  in  camp  and  hospital,  and  every 
letter  brought  news  of  the  families  of  the  troops  suffer 
ing  at  home.  As  his  resources  diminished,  those  of  his 
opponent  seemed  to  increase.  He  was  too  weak  to 
assume  the  offensive  against  fortification,  and  yet  some 
thing  must  be  attempted.  In  the  midst  of  the  gather 
ing  gloom,  Lee  once  more  attempted  to  diminish  the 
troops  in  his  front  by  threatening  the  Federal  capital. 

Ewell,  suffering  from  the  loss  of  his  leg,  had  relin 
quished  the  command  of  his  corps  to  Early,  and  with 
eight  thousand  muskets  this  officer  had  been  sent,  as 
already  stated,  to  Lynchburg,  to  re-enforce  Breckinridge 
in  Hunter's  front.  Hunter  had  retreated  from  Lynch 
burg  to  the  mountains  of  West  Virginia  before  Early 
could  strike  him.  Then  General  Lee  submitted  to  Early 
the  question  whether  the  condition  of  his  troops  would 
permit  him  to  threaten  Washington  as  originally  con 
templated  ;  if  not,  to  return  to  his  army.  Early  deter 
mined  to  take  the  responsibility  of  carrying  out  the 
original  plan,  so  he  turned  the  head  of  his  column 
toward  the  Potomac.  On  June  26th  he  was  at  Staunton, 
July  2d  at  Winchester,  crossing  the  Potomac  on  the  6th, 
fought  and  defeated  six  thousand  troops  under  General 
Lew  Wallace  on  the  Monocacy  on  the  pth,  and  arrived 
in  front  of  the  works  at  Washington  at  noon  on  July 
nth  with  about  ten  thousand  men  and  forty  pieces  of 
artillery.  That  afternoon  his  army  was  placed  in  posi 
tion  with  orders  to  assail  the  works  at  daylight  next 
morning ;  but  learning  during  the  night  that  the  Sixth 
Corps  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and  the  Nineteenth, 
under  Emory,  from  New  Orleans,  had  arrived,  he 
countermanded  the  order,  remained  in  front  of  Wash 
ington  during  the  i2th,  and  that  night  withdrew  and 
began  his  march  back  to  Virginia,  reaching  Strasburg, 
in  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  on  the  22d.  General  Early 
could  not  have  held  Washington  if  he  had  entered  its 
gates  with  his  small  force.  No  re-enforcements  were 
nearer  to  him  than  Richmond,  and  from  the  North  and 


352  GENERAL   LEE. 

General  Grant's  army  a  large  force  could  have  been 
speedily  assembled. 

Grant,  in  consequence  of  the  opportune  arrival  of 
Emory,  only  detached  the  Sixth  Corps  from  his  lines, 
which  did  not  materially  reduce  his  great  numbers  in 
Lee's  front,  and  hence  Lee  did  not  dare  to  weaken  his 
lines  by  re-enforcing  Early.  Early's  presence  in  the 
lower  valley  was  menacing  to  Washington,  preserved  a 
threatening  attitude  toward  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland, 
prevented  the  use  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad 
and  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal,  and  kept  a  large 
force  from  Grant's  army  to  defend  the  Federal  capital. 

The  greater  part  of  this  force  was  moved  south  of  the 
Potomac,  organized  into  the  Army  of  the  Shenandoah, 
and  the  command  of  it  given,  on  August  yth,  to  General 
Sheridan.  With  the  Sixth  and  Nineteenth  Corps,  and 
the  Army  of  West  Virginia,  as  General  George  Crook's 
force  was  called,  Sheridan  had  a  total  present  for  duty 
on  September  loth,  including  Averill's  cavalry,  of  forty- 
eight  thousand  men  and  officers.  He  was  abundantly  able 
to  assume  the  offensive,  for  he  had  in  addition  garrisons 
of  seven  thousand  men  at  Harper's  Ferry,  Martinsburg, 
and  other  points,  making  his  whole  force  about  fifty-five 
thousand.  General  Lee  was  very  anxious  to  win  a  bat 
tle  in  the  lower  valley — it  was  the  only  way  he  could 
relieve  Petersburg — and  so  re-enforced  Early  by  a  di 
vision  of  cavalry  and  one  of  infantry,  both  under  Gen 
eral  Anderson,  the  commander  of  Longstreet's  corps. 
This  officer  was  selected  to  produce  the  impression,  the 
remaining  divisions  of  his  corps  were  to  follow,  in  order 
to  induce  Grant  to  send  troops  to  Sheridan  equivalent 
to  Longstreet's  whole  corps.  In  that  case  Lee  would 
again  re-enforce  Early  and  transfer  the  principal  scene 
of  hostilities  to  the  Potomac,  just  as  he  had  successfully 
drawn  McClellan  from  the  James  and  Hooker  from  the 
Rappahannock  at  Fredericksburg  by  similar  movements ; 
but  Grant  refused  to  follow  the  precedent.  Sheridan 
had  already  an  army  numerically  equal  to  the  one  Lee 
commanded  on  the  Petersburg  lines,  and  was  strong 
enough  to  stand  alone.  Lee  could  not  detach  more 
troops,  but  instead  was  obliged  to  recall  Anderson  and 
his  infantry.  The  failure  to  transfer  the  seat  of  war 


SIEGE   OF   PETERSBURG.  353 

from  in  front  of  Petersburg  was  due  to  the  decreasing 
Confederate  strength  and  the  increase  of  that  of  their 
opponents. 

Lee  could  only  wait,  watch,  and  frustrate  Grant's 
plans  as  far  as  possible.  After  Anderson's  departure 
from  the  Valley  Sheridan  assumed  the  offensive,  and 
on  September  ipth,  with  nearly  fifty  thousand  troops, 
fought  and  defeated,  at  Winchester,  fourteen  thousand 
under  Early,  the  Confederate  loss  being  about  four 
thousand,  the  Federal  five  thousand,  of  which  nearly 
forty-four  hundred  were  killed  or  wounded.  On  the  22d 
Early  was  again  defeated  at  Fisher's  Hill,  but,  being  re- 
enforced  near  Port  Republic  by  Kershaw's  division  of 
infantry  and  Cutshaw's  battalion  of  artillery,  and  later 
by  Rosser's  brigade  of  cavalry,  he  assumed  the  offen 
sive  and  again  moved  down  the  Valley  to  Fisher's  Hill, 
Sheridan  retiring  in  his  front  to  Cedar  Creek.  Here  he 
was  attacked  by  Early  on  the  ipth  of  October  before 
daybreak  and  defeated,  but  afterward,  rallying  his  troops, 
he  in  turn  attacked  and  routed  Early,  who  lost  twenty- 
three  pieces  of  artillery,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty  in 
killed  and  wounded,  and  over  one  thousand  prisoners. 

Major-General  Ramseur,  one  of  Early's  best  and 
bravest  officers,  was  mortally  wounded.  The  opera 
tions  here  were  practically  over,  and  both  Grant  and 
Lee  called  to  them  the  greater  part  of  their  respective 
troops.  The  beautiful  Valley  of  Virginia  was  a  barren 
waste,  and  from  the  breasts  of  its  mountains  was  re 
flected  the  light  of  two  thousand  burning  barns,  seventy 
mills  filled  with  wheat  and  farming  utensils,  while  in 
front  of  the  victorious  army  were  driven  thousands  of 
head  of  stock.  In  the  expressive  language  of  the  Fed 
eral  commander — "  A  crow  flying  across  the  Valley 
would  have  to  carry  its  rations." 

General  Lee's  duties  were  very  exacting,  and  he  was 
constantly  called  upon  to  meet  some  movement  of  his 
enemy.  He  was  closer  to  his  family  in  Richmond  than 
he  had  been,  and  the  citizens  around  him  were  very 
kind,  considerate,  and  generous.  In  a  note  to  Mrs.  Lee, 
dated  Petersburg,  June  ipth,  he  says:  "I  am  much 
obliged  to  the  kind  people  for  the  clothes ;  but  if  they 
are  not  gray  they  are  of  no  use  to  me  in  the  field.  I 


354  GENERAL  LEE. 

hope  to  go  to  church  this  blessed  day,  and  shall  re 
member  you  all  in  my  poor  prayers."  The  ladies  were 
always  contributing  to  his  comfort.  He  writes  from 
Camp  Petersburg,  July  24,  1864:  "The  ladies  of  Peters 
burg  have  sent  me  a  nice  set  of  shirts.  They  were 
given  to  me  by  Mrs.  James  R.  Branch,  and  her  mother, 
Mrs.  Thomas  Branch.  In  fact,  they  have  given  every 
thing — which  I  fear  they  can  not  spare — vegetables, 
bread,  milk,  ice  cream.  To-day  one  of  them  sent  me  a 
nice  peach— the  first  one  I  think  I  have  seen  for  two 
years.  I  sent  it  to  Mrs.  Shippen.  Mr.  Platt  held  serv 
ices  again  to-day  under  the  trees  near  my  camp.  We 
had  quite  a  large  congregation  of  citizens,  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  and  our  usual  number  of  soldiers.  During 
the  services  I  constantly  heard  the  shells  crashing  among 
the  houses  of  Petersburg.  Tell  Life  [his  youngest 
daughter]  I  send  her  a  song  composed  by  a  French 
soldier.  As  she  is  so  learned  in  that  language  I  want 
her  to  send  me  a  reply  in  verse."  And  from  Camp 
Petersburg,  June  26,  1864:  "I  hope  it  is  not  as  hot  in 
Richmond  as  here.  The  men  suffer  a  great  deal  in  the 
trenches;  and  this  condition  of  things,  with  the  heat  of 
the  sun,  nearly  puts  an  end  to  military  operations." 

And  again:  "Camp  Petersburg,  June  30,  1864. — I 
was  very  glad  to  receive  your  letter  yesterday,  and  to 
hear  that  you  were  better.  I  trust  you  will  continue  to 
improve  and  soon  be  as  well  as  usual.  God  grant  that 
you  may  be  entirely  restored  in  his  own  good  time  !  Do 
you  recollect  what  a  happy  day  thirty-three  years  ago  this 
was  ?  How  many  hopes  and  pleasures  it  gave  birth  to  ! 
God  has  been  very  merciful  and  kind  to  us,  and  how 
thankless  and  sinful  I  have  been  !  I  pray  that  he  may 
continue  his  mercies  and  blessings  to  us  and  give  us  a 
little  peace  and  rest  together  in  this  world,  and  finally 
gather  us  and  all  he  has  given  us  around  his  throne  in 
the  world  to  come.  The  President  has  just  arrived,  and 
I  must  bring  my  letter  to  a  close.  God  bless  you  all." 

And  on  July  10,  1864  :  "  I  was  pleased,  on  the  arrival 
of  my  little  courier  this  morning,  to  hear  that  you  were 
better,  and  that  Custis  Morgan  (a  pet  squirrel)  was  still 
among  the  missing.  I  think  the  farther  he  gets  from 
you  the  better  you  will  be.  The  shells  have  scattered 


SIEGE  OF  PETERSBURG.  355 

the  poor  inhabitants  in  Petersburg,  so  that  many  of  the 
churches  are  closed.  Indeed,  they  have  been  visited  by 
the  enemy's  shells.  Mr.  Platt,  pastor  of  the  principal 
Episcopal  Church,  had  services  at  my  headquarters  to 
day.  The  services  were  under  the  trees,  and  the  dis 
course  on  the  subject  of  salvation." 

Lee  and  Grant,  dissimilar  in  many  characteristics, 
were  similar  in  others  :  both  were  quiet  and  self-pos 
sessed,  both  sometimes  restless — Grant  to  break  through 
Lee's  works  somewhere,  Lee  impatient  to  improve  any 
opportunity  that  might  be  offered.  By  mere  chance  both 
were  gratified.  The  Forty-eighth  Pennsylvania  Regi 
ment,  Burnside's  corps,  was  largely  composed  of  Schuyl- 
kill  coal  miners,  and  its  lieutenant  colonel,  Pleasants, 
had  been  a  mining  engineer.  One  hundred  and  thirty 
yards  in  front,  on  General  Johnson's  front,  at  the  center 
of  General  Elliott's  brigade,  was  a  salient  in  the  Con 
federate  lines.  It  was  a  re-entrant  commanded  by  a 
flank  from  either  side;  in  its  rear  was  a  deep  hollow. 
The  mining  men,  with  the  instinct  of  their  profession, 
conceived  the  idea  of  blowing  it  up.  Burnside  approved 
it,  and  work  was  commenced  on  June  25th.  Lee  knew 
what  was  going  on  and  directed  countermining,  but 
abandoned  it  and  threw  up  intrenchments  at  the  gorge 
of  the  salient,  and  established  8-  and  lo-inch  mortar  bat 
teries  to  give  a  front  and  cross  fire  on  it.  It  was  prose 
cuted  under  many  difficulties.  Meade,  and  his  chief  en 
gineer,  Duane,  did  not  believe  such  a  mine  for  mili 
tary  purposes  could  be  excavated.  The  former  did  not 
think  the  location  selected  was  the  proper  one.  The 
part  of  the  line  containing  the  works  to  be  blown  up 
could  not  be  assaulted  with  success,  because  it  was 
commanded  in  both  flanks  by  the  fire  of  the  Southern 
troops,  and  could  be  taken  in  reverse  from  their  posi 
tion  on  the  Jerusalem  plank  road  and  from  their  works 
opposite  the  Hare  House. 

Pleasants  deserves  great  credit  for  his  perseverance. 
Burnside,  his  corps,  and  Potter,  his  division  commander, 
of  the  officers  of  high  rank,  alone  encouraged  his  efforts. 
On  July  23d  the  mine  was  ready  for  the  powder;  for 
forty  workmen,  even  with  inferior  implements,  can  move 
much  dirt  in  a  month.  Imagine  a  main  gallery  five 


356  GENERAL   LEE. 

hundred  and  ten  and  eight  tenths  feet  long,  with  lateral 
galleries  thirty-seven  and  thirty-eight  feet  each,  into 
which  eight  magazines  were  placed,  filled  with  a  total 
charge  of  eight  thousand  pounds  of  powder.  The  theod 
olite  had  accurately  measured  the  distance;  the  powder 
was  directly  under  the  fort.  To  Burnside,  of  course,  was 
assigned  the  honor  of  making  the  grand  assault.  He 
had  three  white  divisions  and  one  division  of  negro 
troops  in  his  corps,  and  determined  to  charge  in  col 
umn  of  divisions  on  all  men  and  guns  not  blown  up, 
and  directed  that  the  negroes  should  lead  in  what  was 
expected  to  be  a  finishing  stroke  to  a  great  war,  and 
thus  give  the  goddess  Fame  the  opportunity  to  crown 
the  colored  brow. 

Burnside  thought  the  colored  division  would  make  a 
better  charge  at  that  time  than  the  white  division,  be 
cause  the  latter  had  been  for  forty  days  in  the  trenches, 
had  few  opportunities  of  washing,  and  were  not  in  con 
dition  to  make  a  vigorous  charge.  Meade  and  Grant 
objected,  the  former  because  "they  were  untried  and 
could  not  be  trusted,"  while  the  latter  directed  the  lead 
ing  column  of  assault  to  be  formed  of  white,  not  black 
troops.  The  negro  was  a  sensitive  plant  in  the  North 
ern  greenhouses  at  that  time;  and  if  he  had  been  butch 
ered  in  the  attack  there  it  would  have  been  charged  by 
some,  as  Meade  expressed  it,  that  "  we  were  shoving 
these  people  ahead  to  get  killed  because  we  did  not 
care  anything  about  them." 

There  was  only  one  negro  division  then  in  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  and  the  fact  that  in  over  one  hundred 
thousand  men  it  had  been  selected  to  lead  the  "  On-to- 
Petersburg  !  "  charge  would  have  been  a  striking  and 
unique  stricture  upon  the  rest  of  the  army.  The  sight 
of  forty-three  hundred  howling,  charging  black  men  at 
the  head  of  the  column  would  have  been  a  red  rag  to 
the  Southern  bull,  and  the  contest  would  have  been 
butcherly,  bloody,  and  brief.  A  humorous  picture  has 
been  drawn  of  these  negro  troops  on  the  night  they 
learned  Burnside  was  going  to  give  them  the  advance. 
They  were  represented  sitting  in  circles  in  their  com 
pany  streets,  intently  and  solemnly  "  studying,"  when 
all  at  once  a  heavy  voice  began  to  sing : 


SIEGE  OF  PETERSBURG.  357 

We-e  looks  li-ike  me-en  a-a-marching  on, 
We  looks  li-ike  men-er  war, 

and  shortly  thereafter  a  thousand  voices  were  upraised 
to  swell  the  refrain.  The  dark  men  with  white  eyes  and 
teeth  and  red  lips  crouching  over  smoldering  fires,  the 
rays  of  lanterns  piercing  the  gloom,  made  a  picturesque 
scene.  The  heroes  "  carved  in  ebony  "  being  ruled  out, 
Burnside  made  his  three  white  division  commanders 
"pull  straws"  to  ascertain  who  should  lead  the  attack 
when  the  mine  was  sprung,  and  General  Ledlie,  com 
manding  the  first  division,  "was  the  unlucky  victim." 
At  3.30  A.  M.  on  the  morning  of  the  3oth  Ledlie  was 
in  position,  and  ready  to  follow  him  were  the  other 
divisions. 

Meade  had  made  every  preparation  for  a  general 
assault,  the  whole  army,  if  necessary,  was  to  be  thrust 
through  the  broken  works  into  the  city.  Warren's  Fifth 
Corps,  and  General  Ord,  commanding  the  Eighteenth 
Corps,  was  to  support  Burnside.  Hancock,  who  had 
been  moved  to  the  north  side  of  the  James  River  to 
threaten  an  attack  upon  Richmond  to  draw  troops  from 
Lee  to  that  side,  and  thus  weaken  his  Petersburg  lines, 
was  to  move  back  during  the  night  and  be  in  position  at 
daylight  to  follow  up  the  assaulting  column,  and  Sheri 
dan,  with  the  cavalry  corps,  was  to  move  on  Petersburg 
by  the  roads  leading  from  the  southward  and  westward. 

The  great  mine  upon  whose  explosion  this  compre 
hensive  wholesale  battle  plan  pivoted  was  to  be  sprung 
at  half-past  three  in  the  morning ;  but,  owing  to  a  defect 
in  the  fuse,  the  wreck  of  matter  did  not  begin  until  an 
hour  and  a  quarter  afterward.  Then  the  earth  trembled 
and  heaved  and  opened  over  the  powder,  and  cannon, 
caissons,  sandbags,  timbers,  men ;  smoke  and  fire  went 
up  in  the  mass  of  earth  to  a  high  altitude,  spread  out 
like  an  immense  cloud,  which  "flushed  to  an  angry  crim 
son  and  floated  away  to  meet  the  morning  sun."  The 
solid  part  began  to  fall.  The  troops  waiting  to  make 
the  charge  thought  the  great  descending  mass  was  aimed 
at  them,  and,  without  the  word  of  command,  broke 
and  scattered  to  the  rear,  and  a  little  time,  most  valu 
able  to  the  Confederates,  was  lost  in  reforming  them. 

When  the  order  for  the  advance  was  given,  more  time 
24 


358  GENERAL   LEE. 

was  consumed  in  climbing  over  their  own  breastworks, 
which  broke  their  ranks,  and  in  irregular  order  they 
pushed  on  for  the  crater  one  hundred  and  thirty  yards 
distant,  the  debris  having  covered  up  the  Confederate 
abatis  and  chevaux-de-frise  in  front  of  it.  An  enormous 
hole  in  the  ground  here  confronted  them — one  hundred 
and  seventy  feet  long,  sixty  feet  wide,  and  thirty  feet  deep 
— "  filled  with  dust,  great  blocks  of  clay,  guns,  broken  gun- 
carriages,  projecting  timbers,  and  men  buried  up  to  their 
necks,  others  to  their  waists,  and  some  with  only  their 
feet  and  legs  protruding  from  the  earth."  Two  hundred 
and  fifty-six  South  Carolinians — the  Eighteenth  and  part 
of  the  Twenty-third — and  twenty-two  men  and  officers  of 
Pegram's  Petersburg  battery,  were  buried  beneath  "  the 
jagged  rocks  of  blackened  clay." 

The  two  advance  brigades  became  inextricably  mixed 
in  the  one  great  desire  to  look  into  the  hole ;  and  then, 
when  the  Confederates  on  either  side  of  the  crater  began 
to  take  in  the  situation  and  to  fire  from  the  traverses, 
there  was  an  uncontrollable  and  natural  desire  to  get  in 
the  hole.  General  Elliott,  while  forming  his  command 
on  the  higher  ground  in  the  rear  of  the  crater,  was  se 
verely  wounded ;  but  Colonel  McMaster,  who  succeeded 
to  the  command,  got  part  of  his  troops  in  the  ravine  in 
the  rear,  and  their  front  fire,  and  the  flank  fire  from  the 
remainder,  and  Ransom's  troops  to  the  Confederate  left, 
repulsed  all  attempts  of  the  Union  troops  to  advance. 
The  crest  of  the  crater  was  now  being  swept  by  canis 
ter,  for  Lieutenant-Colonel  John  Haskell  had  with  great 
promptness  brought  up  two  light  batteries,  and  Pegram's 
guns  were  rapidly  coming  up.  Wright's  four  guns,  six 
hundred  yards  to  the  southern  left  of  the  salient,  con 
cealed  in  the  woods  and  covered  by  traverses,  and  two 
guns  to  the  right  of  the  crater,  opened  a  destructive 
fire  and  covered  the  ground  between  the  big  hole  and 
the  Union  lines.  The  artillery  alone  stood  between  the 
crater  and  Cemetery  Hill,  which,  if  occupied  and  held 
as  had  been  intended,  would  have  resulted  in  the  fall 
of  Petersburg.  Ledlie  was  in  the  rear  ensconced  in  a 
"bomb-proof"  protected  angle  of  his  own  works,  his 
division  in  the  crater,  and  his  orders  to  move  forward 
were  not  obeyed.  "  It  was  as  utterly  impracticable  to 


SIEGE  OF  PETERSBURG.  359 

reform  brigades  outside  of  the  crater  under  the  severe 
fire  of  front  and  rear  as  it  would  be  to  marshal  bees 
into  line  after  upsetting  the  hive,  or  to  hold  dress  pa 
rade  in  front  of  a  charging  enemy,"  wrote  a  Federal 
officer. 

Griffin's  brigade  of  Potter's  division  was  advanced, 
but,  meeting  a  severe  fire,  fell  back  in  the  crater.  Every 
organization  melted  away,  as  soon  as  it  entered  this 
hole  in  the  ground,  into  a  mass  of  human  beings  cling 
ing  to  the  almost  perpendicular  sides.  The  other  bri 
gade  of  Potter's  division  now  advanced,  but  got  no  far 
ther  than  the  abandoned  traverses  and  intrenchments ; 
and  then  Wilcox,  with  the  third  and  last  division  of 
Burnside's  white  troops,  started  forward.  The  crater 
was  filled  with  men  at  this  time,  the  thermometer  above 
ninety  degrees,  and  the  sun  beating  down  in  the  great 
hole  caused  much  suffering.  No  more  troops  could  get 
in.  Wilcox  was  left  out,  and  with  a  part  of  his  com 
mand  attempted  to  carry  some  of  the  works  on  the 
Confederate  right  of  the  crater,  but  only  held  them  a 
short  time.  Orders  were  being  constantly  sent  to  push 
forward  and  occupy  Cemetery  Hill,  but  were  not  rel 
ished  and  not  obeyed.  It  was  now  two  hours  after  the 
explosion  of  the  mine ;  Burnside  determined  to  let  loose 
the  real  dogs  of  war,  and  ordered  General  Edward  Fer- 
rero  with  his  black  division  to  advance,  pass  the  white 
troops,  and  carry  the  crest  of  Cemetery  Hill  at  all 
hazards.  Ferrero  did  not  think  it  advisable  to  move 
his  troops  in,  as  there  were  already  three  divisions  of 
white  troops  in  his  front  "huddled  together";  but 
Burnside  said  the  order  was  peremptory. 

The  colored  division  moved  out  to  death  or  glory ; 
its  commander  did  not,  but  sought  the  "bomb-proof" 
where  Ledlie  was.  These  troops,  moving  by  the  flank, 
passed  around  the  crater  and  attempted  to  advance,  but 
a  deadly  fire  enveloped  them  and  they  broke  in  disorder, 
some  falling  back  to  the  crater,  while  a  majority  ran 
back  to  the  Union  defenses.  General  Ord's  Eighteenth 
Corps  was  now  ordered  to  go  forward.  He  had  diffi 
culty  in  getting  through  the  Ninth  Corps  intrenchments; 
the  parapets  and  abatis  were  not  prepared  for  an  exit, 
and  the  covered  ways  were  crowded  with  the  soldiers 
24 


360  GENERAL   LEE. 

of  the  Ninth  Corps.  Turner's,  his  leading  division,  suc 
ceeded  in  advancing  to  the  Confederate  works,  but  would 
not  stay,  and  fell  back  to  the  starting  point.  The  ob 
ject  now  was  to  get  the  men  in  and  around  the  crater 
back  to  the  Union  lines.  The  ground  was  so  thoroughly 
combed  with  showers  of  shot  that  it  was  proposed  to 
dig  a  covered  way;  but  not  many  spades  or  picks  were 
available,  though  it  was  commenced.  Any  advance  was 
now  hopeless,  and  Meade,  at  1.30  p.  M.,  gave  orders  for 
the  troops  to  be  withdrawn  from  the  crater — a  difficult 
undertaking.  Burnside  thought  they  should  stay  there 
until  night. 

In  the  meantime  the  Confederates  were  massing  for 
the  attack.  Lee  heard  what  had  been  done  about  6  A.  M., 
promptly  took  steps  to  retake  the  position,  and  sent  a 
staff  officer  for  troops  to  do  it.  Traveler  carried  him 
rapidly  to  Gee  House,  a  commanding  position  five  hun 
dred  yards  in  the  rear  of  the  crater.  Beauregard  was 
already  there,  and  soon  Mahone  with  two  brigades — 
Weiseger's  and  Wright's — arrived,  and  formed  in  a  ra 
vine  in  the  rear  of  the  crater.  The  Virginia  brigade 
had  formed  for  the  attack,  and  the  Georgia  troops  were 
in  the  act  of  forming  when  suddenly  Lieutenant-Colonel 
John  A.  Bross,  of  the  Thirty-first  United  States  Colored 
Troops,  sprang  upon  the  crater  crest  waving  a  flag  and 
calling  upon  his  men  to  follow  him. 

Brigadier-General  Weiseger,  commanding  the  Vir 
ginia  brigade,  saw  him,  and,  thinking  his  position  would 
be  assailed,  determined  to  move  first,  and  appealed,  he 
says,  to  Captain  Girardy,  of  Mahone's  staff,  to  give  the 
order,  for  he  had  been  directed  by  Mahone  to  wait  until 
he  or  Girardy  ordered  him  forward.  The  order  was 
given,  and  the  lines  were  captured  by  a  most  gallant 
charge.  The  crater  remained  crammed  with  human 
beings,  living  and  dead,  into  which  huge  missiles  from 
mortars  were  bursting.  The  Georgia  brigade  advanced 
and  attempted  to  dislodge  the  Union  troops  in  the  lines 
south  of  the  crater,  but  failed.  Later  the  Alabama 
brigade  came  up,  when  a  general  assault  by  these  and 
other  troops  on  the  lines  upon  either  side  of  the  crater 
was  made,  and  everywhere  successfully;  and  just  then 
a  white  handkerchief  on  the  end  of  a  ramrod  was  pro- 


SIEGE  OF  PETERSBURG.  361 

jected  above  the  crater,  in  token  of  the  surrender  of  the 
men  there. 

Altogether  it  was  a  horrible  affair ;  and  what  prom 
ised,  Grant  said,  "to  be  the  most  successful  assault  of 
the  campaign  terminated  in  disaster " — a  disaster  in 
which  the  Federals  lost  four  thousand  men.  "The 
operation  was  not  successful,"  Meade  states,  "  for  a  coup 
de  main  depends  for  success  upon  the  utmost  prompti 
tude  of  movement."  Fifty  thousand  troops  were  ready 
to  support  it,  but  proper  debouches  had  not  been  pre 
pared.  The  Ninth  Corps  had  great  difficulty  in  getting 
over  the  high  works  in  their  front,  and  the  space  was 
too  contracted  to  deploy  troops,  preventing  rapidity  of 
execution  and  cordial  co-operation  essential  to  success. 

From  camp,  July  31,  1864,  General  Lee  wrote  :  "  Yes 
terday  morning  the  enemy  sprung  a  mine  on  one  of  our 
batteries  on  the  line  and  got  possession  of  a  portion  of 
our  intrenchments.  It  was  the  part  defended  by  Gen 
eral  Beauregard's  troops.  I  sent  General  Mahone  with 
two  brigades  of  Hill's  corps,  who  charged  into  them 
handsomely,  recapturing  the  intrenchments  and  guns, 
twelve  stand  of  colors,  seventy-three  officers,  including 
General  Bartlett,  his  staff,  three  colonels,  and  eight  hun 
dred  and  fifty-five  enlisted  men.  There  were  upward  of 
five  hundred  of  his  dead  unburied  in  the  trenches,  among 
them  many  officers  and  blacks.  He  suffered  severely. 
He  has  withdrawn  his  troops  from  the  north  side  of  the 
James.  I  do  not  know  what  he  will  attempt  next.  He 
is  mining  on  other  points  along  our  line.  I  trust  he 
will  not  succeed  in  bettering  his  last  attempt."  The 
vigilance  of  the  Southern  general  was  daily  displayed, 
and  his  remarkable  talent  for  promptly  disregarding  the 
feint  and  locating  the  real  attack  had  to  be  incessantly 
exercised.  If  at  first  he  was  in  doubt  of  Grant's  de 
signs,  he  was  patient,  knowing  that  as  they  developed 
he  would  fathom  his  purpose. 

From  camp,  August  14,  1864,  he  wrote  his  wife:  "I 
have  been  kept  from  church  to-day  by  the  enemy's 
crossing  to  the  north  side  of  the  James  River,  and  the 
necessity  of  moving  troops  to  meet  him.  I  do  not  know 
what  his  intentions  are.  He  is  said  to  be  cutting  a 
canal  across  the  Dutch  Gap — a  point  in  the  river — but 


362  GENERAL   LEE. 

I  can  not  as  yet  discover  it.  I  was  up  there  yesterday, 
and  saw  nothing  to  indicate  it.  We  shall  ascertain  in  a 
day  or  two.  I  received  to-day  a  kind  letter  from  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Cole,  of  Culpeper  Court  House.  He  is  a  most 
excellent  man  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  He  says  there 
is  not  a  church  standing  in  all  that  country  within  the 
lines  formerly  occupied  by  the  enemy.  All  are  razed  to 
the  ground,  and  the  materials  used  often  for  the  vilest 
purposes.  Two  of  the  churches  at  the  Court  House 
barely  escaped  destruction.  The  pews  were  all  taken 
out  to  make  seats  for  the  theater.  The  fact  was  re 
ported  to  the  commanding  officer,  General  Newton  (from 
Norfolk),  by  their  own  men  of  the  Christian  Commis 
sion,  but  he  took  no  steps  to  rebuke  or  arrest  it.  We 
must  suffer  patiently  to  the  end,  when  all  things  will  be 
made  right." 

Hancock  kept  Lee  from  attending  divine  services. 
By  Grant's  direction,  he  left  City  Point  with  the  Sec 
ond  and  Tenth  Corps  on  steamers,  at  ten  o'clock  Satur 
day  night,  the  i3th  of  August,  to  produce  the  impres 
sion  he  was  going  to  Washington,  but  disembarked  at 
the  lower  pontoon  bridge  at  Deep  Bottom  and  marched 
toward  Richmond.  Gregg's  cavalry  division  and  the 
artillery  of  the  two  corps  went  by  land  and  across  the 
usual  pontoon  bridge.  The  movement  was  made  to 
prevent  further  detachments  of  Lee's  army  going  to  the 
Valley,  and  if  possible  call  back  those  sent,  and  under 
the  impression  the  remaining  divisions  of  Longstreet's 
corps  had  followed  Kershaw.  It  involved  the  capture 
of  Chaffin's  Bluff,  one  of  the  chief  fortifications  guarding 
the  river  approach  to  Richmond.  Field's  and  Wilcox's 
divisions,  re-enforced  by  Mahone's  division  of  infantry, 
and  Hampton's  and  W.  H.  F.  Lee's  cavalry  divisions 
sent  from  the  south  side,  interposed  an  effective  barrier 
to  Hancock's  advance.  This  officer,  after  making  one 
unsuccessful  assault,  remained  quiet  for  four  days,  and 
then  during  the  night  withdrew  to  the  south  side  with  a 
loss  of  twenty-seven  hundred  and  eighty-six  men. 

In  a  combat  on  the  i6th  between  the  Confederate 
and  Gregg's  Federal  cavalry,  General  John  R.  Cham- 
bliss,  a  bold,  enterprising  Southern  brigadier  of  cavalry, 
was  killed.  While  Hancock  was  demonstrating  on  the 


SIEGE  OF   PETERSBURG.  363 

north  side,  Warren  with  his  Fifth  Corps  was  withdrawn 
from  his  lines  and  sent  to  destroy,  with  Kautz's  cavalry, 
the  Weldon  Railroad.  He  struck  it  a  point  four  miles 
from  Petersburg,  at  Globe  Tavern,  and  was  soon  after 
ward  re-enforced  by  three  divisions  of  the  Ninth  Corps. 
Bearing's  Confederate  cavalry  was  there  and  reported 
to  Beauregard  the  occupation  of  the  railroad  by  infan 
try,  who  sent  Heth  with  two  brigades  to  attack  him.  A 
sharp  encounter  between  Ayers's  division  and  Heth  fol 
lowed,  in  which  both  sides  lost  heavily.  On  the  iQth 
the  fighting  was  renewed,  both  sides  being  re-enforced. 
Hill  attacked  with  five  brigades  under  Heth  and  Ma- 
hone,  a  division  of  cavalry,  and  Pegram's  batteries,  at 
the  intersection  of  the  Vaughn  road  with  the  railroad. 
Heth  and  Mahone  made  a  fine  effort,  meeting  with  de 
served  success,  but  were  later  in  turn  repulsed.  Warren 
lost  three  thousand  men,  and  on  the  2Oth  fell  back  a 
mile  and  a  half  and  intrenched.  On  the  2ist  Hill  again 
attacked,  but  was  unsuccessful.  General  Sanders,  of 
Mahone's  brigade,  was  killed. 

Hancock  was  now  brought  up  with  instructions  to 
destroy  the  Weldon  Railroad  south  of  Ream's  Station. 
He  was  attacked  by  Hill  on  the  25th  at  5  p.  M.  with  eight 
infantry  brigades  and  two  divisions  of  cavalry  under 
Hampton,  and  beaten,  capturing  three  batteries  of  ar 
tillery.  A  disorderly  rout  was  avoided  by  the  personal 
bearing  and  example  of  General  Hancock  and  the  good 
behavior  of  a  part  of  his  first  division  under  Miles. 
Gibbon's  division  had  been  so  roughly  handled  that 
their  commanders,  said  Humphreys,  could  not  get  the 
troops  to  advance ;  they  were  driven  from  the  breast 
works  by  Hampton's  dismounted  cavalry ;  Gregg's  cav 
alry  division  was  also  driven  back  by  these  troopers, 
and  during  the  night  Hancock  retreated,  having  lost 
twenty-three  hundred  and  seventy-two  men,  while  Hill's 
loss  only  amounted  to  seven  hundred  and  twenty.  Hill 
captured  twelve  stand  of  colors,  nine  guns  and  ten  cais 
sons,  thirty-one  hundred  stand  of  small  arms,  and  twen 
ty-one  hundred  and  fifty  prisoners. 

General  Lee's  labors  were  incessant ;  as  soon  as  one 
attempt  on  his  lines  failed  another  began.  His  power 
of  endurance  was  great,  but  anxiety,  fatigue,  and  loss  of 


364  GENERAL  LEE. 

rest  must  make  inroads.  Mrs.  Lee,  growing  uneasy  for 
fear  the  great  strain  upon  him  would  be  too  heavy, 
remonstrated  and  begged  him  to  look  more  to  his  com 
fort  and  health.  From  Camp  Petersburg,  September  18, 
1864,  he  replies :  "  But  what  care  can  a  man  give  to  him 
self  in  time  of  war  ?  It  is  from  no  desire  of  exposure  or 
hazard  that  I  live  in  a  tent,  but  from  necessity.  I  must 
be  where  I  can  speedily  at  all  times  attend  to  the  duties 
of  my  position,  and  be  near  or  accessible  to  the  officers 
with  whom  I  have  to  act.  I  have  been  offered  rooms  in 
the  houses  of  our  citizens,  but  I  could  not  turn  the 
dwellings  of  my  kind  hosts  into  a  barrack,  where  offi 
cers,  couriers,  distressed  women,  etc.,  would  be  entering 
day  and  night." 

Warren  was  still  intrenched  across  the  Weldon  Rail 
road  on  the  left  of  the  Union  lines.  Ten  days  after 
Hancock  and  Hill  had  their  battle,  Grant  next  endeav 
ored  to  break  the  Southern  lines  on  the  Richmond  side. 
Ord  and  Birney,  with  the  Tenth  and  Eighteenth  Corps, 
crossed  the  James  the  night  of  September  28th,  moved 
rapidly  up  the  River  and  New  Market  roads,  while 
Kautz's  cavalry  marched  on  the  Darby  road.  The  six 
teen  thousand  troops  sought  to  assail  and  capture  the 
Confederate  works,  which  were  feebly  garrisoned,  be 
fore  they  could  be  re-enforced  from  the  south  side- 
Ord,  nearest  the  river,  succeeded  in  capturing  Fort  Har 
rison,  a  strong  work  on  the  Southern  main  line  of  in- 
trenchments  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter  from  the  river, 
with  its  sixteen  guns  and  a  number  of  prisoners,  as  well 
as  two  adjoining  lunettes  with  their  artillery — six  guns. 
But  Birney's  attack  on  Fort  Gilmer,  three  quarters  of  a 
mile  north  of  Harrison,  was  repulsed  with  great  loss  to 
him.  Grant  was  present  urging  Birney  forward,  but  the 
canister  and  musketry  fire  broke  his  advancing  lines  and 
caused  them  to  fall  back  in  confusion. 

Ewell  was  in  command  of  the  local  troops  on  the 
north  side,  Lee  joined  him  during  the  day,  and  at  2  p.  M. 
on  the  3oth  directed  an  assault  on  Fort  Harrison  with 
five  brigades  under  Anderson,  commanding  Longstreet's 
corps;  but  during  the  night  before,  large  working  par 
ties  had  made  Fort  Harrison  an  inclosed  work  and  too 
strong  to  be  carried.  After  this  Grant's  left  on  the  south 


SIEGE  OF  PETERSBURG.  365 

side  was  further  extended  to  the  Peebles  farm,  and  co 
operative  movements  on  both  Lee's  flanks  followed  with 
out  practical  results.  Longstreet  returned  to  duty  on 
the  i9th  of  October,  and  was  assigned  to  the  command 
of  the  troops  on  the  north  side  and  on  the  Bermuda 
Hundred  front.  General  Weitzel  was  given  the  com 
mand  of  the  Eighteenth  Federal  Corps,  and  General 
Hancock  was  called  to  Washington  to  organize,  out  of 
abundant  material,  another  fresh  corps  to  take  the  field 
in  the  spring. 

The  picture  of  the  winter  of  1864  and  1865  has  a 
somber  background.  The  Confederate  commander  had 
displayed  "  every  art  by  which  genius  and  courage  can 
make  good  the  lack  of  numbers  and  resources,"  but 
could  not  gather  hope  from  coming  days  ;  clothing, 
food,  ammunition,  and  forage  for  animals  were  so  scarce, 
suffering  and  distress  so  plentiful.  The  leader  of  a 
brave  people  must  fight  until  the  war  clouds  of  mis 
fortune  enveloped  him  on  so  many  sides  he  could  fight 
no  longer.  "  I  say  that,  if  the  event  had  been  manifest 
to  the  whole  world  beforehand,  not  even  then  ought 
Athens  to  have  forsaken  this  course,  if  she  had  any  re 
gard  for  her  glory  or  for  her  past,  or  for  the  ages  to 
come,"  exclaimed  Demosthenes. 

Self-possessed  and  calm,  Lee  struggled  to  solve  the 
huge  military  problem,  and  make  the  sum  of  smaller 
numbers  equal  to  that  of  greater  numbers.  It  was  the 
old  heathen  picture  of  "  man  sublimely  contending  with 
Fate  to  the  admiration  of  the  gods,  accepting  the  last 
test  of  endurance,  and  with  the  smile  of  a  sublime  resolu 
tion  risking  the  last  defiance  of  fortune."  His  thoughts 
ever  turned  upon  the  soldiers  of  his  army — the  ragged, 
gallant  fellows  around  him,  whose  pinched  cheeks  told 
hunger  was  their  portion,  and  whose  shivering  forms  de 
noted  the  absence  of  proper  clothing.  Mrs.  Lee,  in  her 
invalid  chair  in  Richmond,  with  large  heart  and  small 
means,  assisted  by  friends,  was  busy  knitting  socks  and 
sending  them  to  him.  He  writes  her  from  Petersburg, 
November  30,  1864:  "I  received  yesterday  your  letter 
of  the  2yth,  and  am  glad  to  learn  your  supply  of  socks 
is  so  large.  If  two  or  three  hundred  would  send  an 
equal  number  we  should  have  a  sufficiency.  I  will  en- 


366  GENERAL   LEE. 

deavor  to  have  them  distributed  to  the  most  needy." 
And  again  on  December  17,  1864:  "I  received  day  be 
fore  yesterday  the  box  with  hat,  gloves,  and  socks;  also 
the  barrel  of  apples.  You  had  better  have  kept  the  lat 
ter,  as  it  would  have  been  more  useful  to  you  than  to 
me,  and  I  should  have  enjoyed  its  consumption  by  your 
self  and  the  girls  more  than  by  me."  And  on  December 
30,  1864,  he  tells  her:  "The  Lyons  furs  and  fur  robe 
have  also  arrived  safely,  but  I  can  learn  nothing  of  the 
saddle  of  mutton.  Bryan,  of  whom  I  inquired  as  to  its 
arrival,  is  greatly  alarmed  lest  it  has  been  sent  to  the 
soldiers'  dinner.  If  the  soldiers  get  it  I  shall  be  con 
tent.  I  can  do  very  well  without  it.  In  fact,  I  should 
rather  they  would  have  it  than  I."  And  on  January  10, 
1865,  after  stating  how  the  socks  which  Mrs.  Lee  had 
sent  had  been  distributed  to  the  army,  the  general  writes: 
"  Yesterday  afternoon  three  little  girls  walked  into  my 
room,  each  with  a  small  basket.  The  eldest  carried 
some  fresh  eggs  laid  by  her  own  hens ;  the  second,  some 
pickles  made  by  her  mother ;  the  third,  some  pop  corn 
which  had  grown  in  her  garden.  They  were  accompa 
nied  by  a  young  maid  with  a  block  of  soap  made  by  her 
mother.  They  were  the  daughters  of  a  Mrs.  Notting 
ham,  a  refugee  from  Northampton  County,  who  lived 
near  Eastville,  not  far  from  old  Arlington.  The  eldest 
of  the  girls,  whose  age  did  not  exceed  eight  years,  had 
a  small  wheel  on  which  she  spun  for  her  mother,  who 
wove  all  the  cloth  for  her  two  brothers — boys  of  twelve 
and  fourteen  years.  I  have  not  had  so  pleasant  a  visit 
for  a  long  time.  I  fortunately  was  able  to  fill  their 
baskets  with  apples,  which  distressed  poor  Bryan  [his 
steward],  and  begged  them  to  bring  me  nothing  but 
kisses  and  to  keep  the  eggs,  corn,  etc.,  for  themselves. 
I  pray  daily,  and  almost  hourly,  to  our  heavenly  Father 
to  come  to  the  relief  of  you  (Mrs.  Lee  was  sick)  and 
our  afflicted  country.  I  know  he  will  order  all  things 
for  our  good,  and  we  must  be  content." 

Children  always  held  the  key  which  would  unlock 
the  heart  of  Lee,  and  his  description  of  the  little  girls 
bringing  him  presents  is  a  charming  illustration  of  his 
fondness  for  them. 

In  spite  of   the   wonderful   success  attending  Lee's 


SIEGE   OF   PETERSBURG.  367 

efforts,  at  every  attempt  Grant  made  to  get  toward 
Lynchburg  or  Southside  Railroad,  the  Union  line  of 
contravallation  continued  to  stretch,  and  it  was  evident, 
unless  Lee  could  get  more  men,  he  would  lose  that  line 
of  railroad.  A  lodgment  once  effected,  enormous  in- 
trenchments  would  follow,  which  could  not  be  assailed 
with  success ;  but  where  were  men  to  come  from  when 
the  end  of  conscription  had  been  reached  and  exchange 
of  prisoners  stopped  ?  Lee  did  not  believe  the  white 
population  could  supply  the  necessities  of  a  long  war 
without  overtaxing  its  capacity,  and  thought  the  time 
had  come  to  enlist  the  negroes  as  soldiers,  and  so  wrote 
Hon.  E.  Barksdale,  a  member  of  the  Confederate  States 
House  of  Representatives,  on  February  18,  1865.  Six 
months  before,  he  had  advocated  their  employment  as 
teamsters,  laborers,  and  mechanics,  in  place  of  whites, 
who,  being  replaced,  could  be  restored  to  the  ranks. 
He  thought,  too,  that  the  negroes  would  be  used  against 
the  South  as  fast  as  the  Federals  got  possession  of 
them ;  that  he  could  make  as  good  soldiers  of  them 
as  his  enemy,  who  attached  great  importance  to  their 
assistance ;  that  the  negroes  furnished  more  promising 
material  than  many  armies  mentioned  in  history,  pos 
sessed  the  requisite  physical  qualifications,  and  their 
habits  of  obedience  constituted  a  good  foundation  for 
discipline;  and  that  those  who  were  employed  should 
be  freed.  Congress  passed  a  bill  for  the  purpose ;  but 
it  was  now  too  late  to  experiment  with  new  measures. 
The  Southern  chief  not  only  wanted  more  men,  but  sup 
plies  for  those  he  already  commanded.  "  The  struggle 
now  is,"  said  he,  "  to  keep  the  army  fed  and  clothed. 
Only  fifty  men,"  he  wrote,  "  in  some  regiments  had 
shoes,  and  bacon  is  only  issued  once  in  a  few  days." 

On  January  n,  1865,  he  tells  Mr.  Seddon,  the  Secre 
tary  of  War,  that  his  army  had  only  two  days'  supplies, 
the  country  was  swept  clear,  and  the  sole  reliance  was 
on  the  railroads.  And  the  next  day  he  issued  an  appeal 
to  the  "  farmers  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and  south  of 
the  James  to  send  food  for  the  army,  for  which  he 
would  pay,  or  return  in  kind."  Many  months  before, 
flour  was  quoted  at  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  per 
barrel  in  Confederate  money  ;  meal  fifty  dollars,  corn 


368  GENERAL   LEE. 

forty,  and  oats  twenty-five  dollars  per  bushel ;  hay 
twenty-five  dollars  per  pound ;  beans  fifty  dollars,  and 
black-eyed  peas,  forty-five  dollars  per  bushel.  Brown 
sugar,  ten  dollars,  coffee,  twelve  dollars,  and  tea,  thirty- 
five  dollars  per  pound,  and  very  scarce.  Sorghum,  a 
substitute  for  sugar  and  meat,  forty  dollars  per  gallon. 
In  Richmond  a  relative  offered  General  Lee  a  cup  of 
tea,  and  to  prevent  him  from  knowing  one  cup  was  all 
she  had,  filled  her  own  cup  with  James  River  water, 
colored  by  mud  from  recent  rains,  which  she  uncon 
cernedly  sipped  with  a  spoon. 

The  capture  of  Fort  Fisher,  North  Carolina,  on  Janu 
ary  15,  1865,  closed  the  last  gateway  between  the  South 
ern  States  and  the  outside  world.  Sherman  with  a  pow 
erful  army  reached  Savannah,  on  his  march  from  Atlanta 
to  the  sea,  on  December  21,  1864,  from  which  point  he 
could  unite  with  Grant  by  land  or  water.  On  February 
ist  he  crossed  into  South  Carolina,  and  on  March  23d 
was  at  Goldsborough,  N.  C.,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
from  Petersburg. 

Lee  had  now  been  made  commander  in  chief  of  all 
the  armies  of  the  Confederacy,  and  assumed  charge  in 
General  Orders  No.  i,  February  pth.  He  could  have 
had  practical  control  of  military  operations  throughout 
the  South  before,  for  his  suggestions  would  have  been 
complied  with  by  the  constitutional  commander  in  chief, 
but  he  always  attended  to  his  own  affairs  and  let  those 
of  others  alone.  Five  days  after  he  was  commissioned 
commander  in  chief  he  issued  General  Orders  No.  2, 
exhorting  Southern  soldiers  to  respond  to  the  call  of 
honor  and  duty,  pardoning  deserters  and  those  improp 
erly  absent  if  they  returned  in  twenty  days — except 
those  who  deserted  to  the  enemy — and  saying,  "  Let  us 
oppose  constancy  to  adversity,  fortitude  to  suffering, 
and  courage  to  danger,  with  the  firm  assurance  that  He 
who  gave  freedom  to  our  fathers  will  bless  the  efforts 
of  their  children  to  preserve  it." 

The  day  before  this  order  was  issued  "  was  the  most 
inclement  day  of  winter."  Lee  dispatched  to  Seddon, 
Secretary  of  War,  that  his  troops  uwere  greatly  exposed 
in  line  of  battle  two  days,  had  been  without  meat  for  three 
days,  and  in  scant  clothing  took  the  cold  hail  and  sleet." 


SIEGE  OF  PETERSBURG.  369 

The  commissary  general  reported  not  a  pound  of  meat 
at  his  disposal.  "  The  physical  strength  of  the  men," 
said  Lee,  "if  their  courage  survives,  must  fail  under 
this  treatment ;  "  that  his  "  cavalry  had  to  be  dispersed 
for  want  of  forage;  with  these  facts,  taken  in  connec 
tion  with  paucity  of  numbers,  you  must  not  be  surprised 
if  calamity  befalls  us."  General  John  C.  Breckinridge, 
«rho  had  been  appointed  Secretary  of  War  in  Mr.  Sed- 
don's  place,  received  and  referred  General  Lee's  letter 
to  Mr.  Davis,  who  indorsed  upon  it :  "  This  is  too  sad 
to  be  patiently  considered."  Want  of  supplies,  want  of 
men,  was  indeed  a  grievous  calamity.  In  the  numerous 
recent  combats  many  of  his  best  men  and  officers  had 
fallen,  among  the  latter,  General  John  Pegram,  who  was 
endeared  to  him  by  many  personal  ties.  It  seemed  diffi 
cult  to  get  the  simplest  necessaries — even  soap  became, 
scarce,  and,  as  a  consequence,  many  of  his  soldiers  had 
cutaneous  diseases.  "  The  supply  from  the  Commissary 
Department  is  wholly  inadequate,"  he  wrote,  "  notwith 
standing  the  materials  for  making  it  are  found  in  every 
household  and  the  art  is  familiar  to  all  well-trained 
domestics."  The  equipments  for  cavalrymen  were  so 
greatly  wanted  that  Lee  issued  a  circular  requesting  the 
citizens  to  send  him  any  saddles,  revolvers,  pistols,  and 
carbines  that  might  be  in  their  possession.  His  scant 
battalions  grew  smaller  and  smaller,  the  lines  to  be 
guarded  longer  and  longer.  "  Cold  and  hunger  struck 
them  down  in  the  trenches,  while  from  the  desolate 
track  of  triumphant  armies  in  their  rear  came  the  cries 
of  starving  and  unprotected  homes."  On  all  sides  dif 
ficulties  and  dangers  multiplied.  Beauregard  had  been 
sent  South  to  concentrate  such  troops  as  he  could  in 
Sherman's  front,  and  had  reported  that  Sherman  would 
move  via  Greensborough  and  Weldon  to  Petersburg,  or 
unite  with  Schofield  at  Raleigh. 

"  Beauregard  has  a  difficult  task  to  perform,"  said 
Lee  to  Breckinridge,  Secretary  of  War,  "  and  one  of  his 
best  officers,  General  Hardee,  is  incapacitated  by  sick 
ness.  I  have  heard  his  own  health  is  indifferent ;  should 
his  health  give  way  there  is  no  one  in  the  department  to 
replace  him,  nor  have  I  any  one  to  send  there.  General 
J.  E.  Johnston  is  the  only  officer  I  know  who  has  the 


370  GENERAL   LEE. 

confidence  of  the  army  and  the  people,  and  if  he  were 
ordered  to  report  to  me  I  would  place  him  there  on 
duty."  Lee  had  no  troops  to  send  Beauregard,  and  yet 
it  was  all-important  to  retard  Sherman's  march.  The 
troops  in  the  Valley,  under  General  L.  L.  Lomax,  were 
scattered  for  subsistence,  and  could  not  be  concentrated. 
"You  may  expect,"  said  Lee  to  Breckinridge  on  Febru 
ary  2ist,  "Sheridan  to  move  up  the  Valley,  and  Stone- 
man  from  Knoxville.  What,  then,  will  become  of  those 
sections  of  the  country  ?  Bragg  will  be  forced  back  by 
Schofield,  I  fear,  and  until  I  abandon  James  River  noth 
ing  can  be  sent  from  the  army.  Grant  is  preparing  to 
draw  out  by  his  left  with  the  intent  of  enveloping  me  ;  he 
may  be  preparing  to  anticipate  my  withdrawal.  Every 
thing  of  value  should  be  removed  from  Richmond.  The 
cavalry  and  artillery  are  still  scattered  for  want  of  prov 
ender,  and  our  supply  and  ammunition  trains,  which 
ought  to  be  with  the  army  in  case  of  a  sudden  move 
ment,  are  absent  collecting  provisions  and  forage  in 
West  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  You  will  see  to 
what  straits  we  are  reduced." 

On  the  same  day  he  wrote  Mrs.  Lee  :  "  After  sending 
my  note  this  morning  I  received  from  the  express  office 
a  bag  of  socks.  You  will  have  to  send  down  your  of 
ferings  as  soon  as  you  can  and  bring  your  work  to  a 
close,  for  I  think  General  Grant  will  move  against  us 
soon — within  a  week  if  nothing  prevents — and  no  man 
can  tell  what  may  be  the  result ;  but,  trusting  to  a  merci 
ful  God,  who  does  not  always  give  the  battle  to  the 
strong,  I  pray  we  may  not  be  overwhelmed.  I  shall, 
however,  endeavor  to  do  my  duty  and  fight  to  the  last. 
Should  it  be  necessary  to  abandon  our  position  to  pre 
vent  being  surrounded,  what  will  you  do  ?  Will  you  re 
main,  or  leave  the  city  ?  You  must  consider  the  question 
and  make  up  your  mind.  It  is  a  fearful  condition,  and 
we  must  rely  for  guidance  and  protection  upon  a  kind 
Providence." 

General  Lee  determined  to  make  one  more  effort  by 
a  bold  stroke  to  break  the  chains  forged  to  confine  him. 
Grant  had  so  extended  his  left  that  he  thought  he  might 
break  through  his  works  near  the  Appomattox  below 
and  east  of  Petersburg,  and  hence  determined  to  assault 


SIEGE   OF  PETERSBURG.  37! 

Fort  Stedman,  two  miles  from  the  city,  where  the  oppos 
ing  lines  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  and  the  re 
spective  pickets  fifty  yards  apart.  General  Gordon,  an 
officer  always  crammed  with  courage  and  fond  of  enter 
prise,  was  selected  to  make  the  attack  with  his  corps 
(formerly  Ewell's)  and  parts  of  Longstreet's  and  Hill's 
and  a  detachment  of  cavalry.  His  object  was  to  capture 
the  fort,  thrust  the  storming  party  through  the  gap,  and 
seize  three  forts  on  the  high  ground  beyond  and  the 
lines  on  the  right  and  left  of  it,  under  the  impression 
that  the  forts  were  opened  at  the  gorge.  But  there 
were  no  such  forts.  The  redoubts  that  had  a  command 
ing  fire  on  Fort  Stedman  were  on  the  main  line  in  the 
rear,  and  in  front  were  a  line  of  intrenchments.  At 
about  half-past  four  on  the  morning  of  March  25th  Gor 
don  made  his  daring  sortie,  broke  through  the  trench 
guards,  overpowered  the  garrison,  and  captured  Fort 
Stedman,  or  Hare's  Hill,  and  two  adjacent  batteries; 
but,  after  a  most  gallant  struggle,  was  forced  to  retire, 
losing  nineteen  hundred  and  forty-nine  prisoners  and 
one  thousand  killed  and  wounded,  but  bringing  back 
five  hundred  and  sixty  prisoners  and  Brigadier-General 
McLaughlin. 

On  February  2yth  Sheridan,  with  two  divisions  of 
cavalry,  ten  thousand  sabers,  moved  up  the  Valley  to 
Staunton,  pushed  from  his  front  at  Waynesborough  a 
small  force  under  Early,  and,  marching  via  Charlottes- 
ville,  joined  Grant  on  March  27th.  Lee  now  recalled 
Rosser's  cavalry  division,  and  his  cavalry  corps  em 
braced  that  division,  W.  H.  F.  Lee's  and  Fitz  Lee's  old 
division  under  Munford,  Fitz  Lee  being  assigned  to  the 
command  of  the  cavalry  corps — in  all,  about  five  thou 
sand  five  hundred  troopers. 

During  the  winter  General  Lee  had  given  careful 
consideration  to  the  question  of  evacuating  Petersburg 
and  Richmond.  It  was  attended  with  many  embarrass 
ments.  Richmond  was  the  capital  city,  the  machinery 
of  the  Confederate  Government  was  in  motion  there, 
and  the  abandonment  of  a  country's  capital  was  a  se 
rious  step  ;  there,  too,  were  the  workshops,  iron  works, 
rolling  mills,  and  foundries,  which  were  so  essential. 
Their  loss  would  be  a  deprivation ;  and  then,  too,  there 


372  GENERAL   LEE. 

was  sorrow  in  turning  away  and  leaving  to  their  fate 
the  noble  women,  children,  and  old  men  of  the  two 
cities,  whose  hearths  and  homes  he  had  been  so  long 
defending.  The  question  of  withdrawal  was  discussed 
with  Mr.  Davis,  who  consented  to  it,  the  line  of  retreat 
was  decided,  and  Danville,  in  Virginia,  selected  as  the 
point  to  retire  upon.  It  was  determined  to  collect  sup 
plies  at  that  point,  so  that  Lee,  rapidly  moving  from  his 
lines,  could  form  a  junction  with  General  Joseph  E. 
Johnston,  who  on  February  23d  had  been  instructed  to 
assume  the  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee, 
and  all  troops  in  the  Department  of  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  and  Florida.  Lee  and  Johnston  were  then  to 
assail  Sherman  before  Grant  could  get  to  his  relief,  as 
the  question  of  supplying  his  enormous  army,  moving 
from  its  base  to  the  interior,  would  retard  him  after  the 
first  few  days'  march. 

Sherman,  after  his  junction  with  Schofield  at  Golds- 
borough,  had  nearly  ninety  thousand  men  of  the  three 
arms.  Johnston,  having  only  eighteen  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  sixty-one,  telegraphed  Lee  that  with  his 
small  force  he  could  only  annoy  Sherman,  not  stop  him, 
adding:  "  You  have  only  to  decide  where  to  meet  Sher 
man  ;  I  will  be  near  him."  It  is  possible  Lee,  with  his 
army  out  of  the  trenches,  gaining  strength  from  other 
quarters  as  he  marched  to  Danville,  and  with  absentees 
returning,  as  in  that  event  many  would,  could  have  car 
ried  to  Johnston  fifty  or  sixty  thousand  fighting  men — 
making  their  combined  force  over  seventy  thousand 
effectives,  as  against  Sherman's  ninety  thousand.  The 
South  would  have  gladly  staked  its  fortunes  upon  a 
battle,  when  Lee  and  Johnston  rode  boot  to  boot  and 
directed  the  tactical  details.  Sherman  by  water  visited 
Grant  on  March  27th,  told  him  he  would  be  ready  to 
move  from  Goldsborough  by  April  loth,  would  threat 
en  Raleigh  and  march  for  Weldon,  sixty  miles  south 
of  Petersburg,  and  to  General  Grant  in  the  direction 
deemed  best. 

Grant,  apprehensive  that  Lee  would  certainly  aban 
don  his  intrenchments  as  soon  as  he  heard  Sherman  had 
crossed  the  Roanoke,  determined  to  take  the  initiative. 
He  could  easily  do  it,  for  he  had  an  army  number- 


SIEGE   OF   PETERSBURG. 


373 


ing*  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  thousand  seven  hun 
dred  men  for  duty.  The  returns  of  February  28,  1865, 
gives  as  the  strength  of  General  Lee's  army,  total  effec 
tive  of  all  arms,  fifty-nine  thousand  and  ninety-three. 
His  losses  in  March  were  great  at  Fort  Stedman — nearly 
three  thousand — and  desertions  were  numerous.  Colo 
nel  Taylor,  on  March  3ist,  estimates  that  Lee  had  thirty- 
three  thousand  muskets  to  defend  a  line  thirty-five  miles 
in  length,  or  a  thousand  men  to  the  mile.  Lee  told  the 
writer  he  had  at  that  time  thirty-five  thousand  ;  but 
after  Five  Forks,  and  in  the  encounters  of  March  3ist, 
April  ist  and  2d,  he  had  only  twenty  thousand  muskets 
available,  and  of  all  arms  not  over  twenty-five  thou 
sand,  when  he  began  the  retreat  that  terminated  at  Ap- 
pomattox  Court  House. 

The  opposing  horsemen,  commanded  by  General 
Wesley  Merritt,  were  composed  of  three  divisions,  under 
Thomas  C.  Devin,  Custer,  and  Crook  and  formed  part 
of  the  mixed  command  of  Sheridan.  From  the  morning 
report  of  March  31,  1865,  they  numbered  thirteen  thou 
sand  two  hundred  and  nine  present  for  duty,  exclusive 
of  a  division  under  General  Ronalds  Mackenzie — about 
two  thousand  effectives.  The  cavalry  corps  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  numbered  over  fifteen  thousand  men  in 
the  saddle.  In  other  words,  where  Lee  had  one  infantry 
or  cavalry  or  artillery  soldier  Grant  had  three !  He  pos 
sessed  the  enormous  advantage,  too,  of  being  able  to 
hold  his  formidable  works  with  a  force  equal  to  the 
whole  of  Lee's  army  and  still  manoeuvre  nearly  one 
hundred  thousand  men  outside  of  them,  either  to  extend 
his  left  or  for  other  purposes.  Fully  aware  of  his  great 
advantage,  he  waited  impatiently  to  commence  the  spring 
campaign. 

He  was  apprehensive  that  Lee  would  quietly  draw  out 
from  his  front  at  night  and,  gaining  a  good  start,  appear 
in  Sherman's  front  before  he  could  reach  him.  Hav 
ing  plenty  of  men,  why  should  he  wait  for  Sherman  to 
join  him  ?  "I  have  had  a  feeling  that  it  is  better,"  said 


*  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  War  to  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress 
gives  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  thousand  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
four. 

25 


374  GENERAL   LEE. 

he  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  "  to  let  Lee's  old  antagonist  give  his 
army  the  final  blow  and  finish  up  the  job.  If  the  West 
ern  armies  were  ever  to  put  in  an  appearance  against 
Lee's  army,  it  might  give  some  of  our  politicians  a 
chance  to  stir  up  sectional  feeling  in  claiming  every 
thing  for  the  troops  from  their  own  section  of  the 
country."  "  I  see,  I  see,"  replied  Mr.  Lincoln ;  "  in 
fact,  my  anxiety  has  been  so  great  that  I  didn't  care 
where  the  help  came  from  so  the  work  was  perfectly 
done."  Lee,  chained  to  his  trenches  by  his  necessi 
ties,  and  waiting  for  better  roads  on  account  of  the 
weak  condition  of  his  artillery  and  transportation  ani 
mals,  gave  General  Grant  the  opportunity  to  get  around 
his  lines  west  of  Petersburg,  for  which  he  had  so  long 
waited. 

On  March  28th  Grant  sounded  the  laissez  aller,  as  a 
writer  puts  it,  and  the  next  day  great  turning  columns 
were  put  in  motion  to  swing  around  the  flank  of  Lee,  and 
get  possession  of  his  remaining  lines  of  transportation, 
the  Lynchburg  or  Southside  Railroad,  and  the  Danville 
Railroad  at  Burkesville,  the  junction  of  the  two.  It  was 
calculated  that  Lee  would  largely  draw  troops  from  his 
lines  to  avert  such  a  disaster,  and  in  that  event  they 
could  be  successfully  assailed  by  the  troops  on  their 
front.  On  that  day  General  Lee  wrote  Mrs.  Lee :  "  I 
have  received  your  note  with  a  bag  of  socks.  I  return 
the  bag  and  receipt.  The  count  is  all  right  this  time. 
I  have  put  in  the  bag  General  Scott's  autobiography, 
which  I  thought  you  might  like  to  read.  The  general, 
of  course,  stands  out  very  prominently,  and  does  not 
hide  his  light  under  a  bushel,  but  he  appears  the  bold, 
sagacious,  truthful  man  that  he  is.  I  inclose  a  note  for 
little  Agnes.  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  see  her  to-morrow, 
but  can  not  recommend  pleasure  trips  now." 

The  Southern  lines  south  of  James  River  stretched 
from  the  Appomattox  below  Petersburg  along  the  terri 
tory  south  of  the  city,  then  ran  in  a  southwest  direction 
parallel  and  protecting  the  Lynchburg  Railroad,  then 
bending  west  and  northwest,  terminated  on  Hatcher's 
Run,  a  little  over  a  mile  from  Sutherland  Station  on 
the  railroad.  From  this  point  the  White  Oak  road  runs 
west  to  Five  Forks,  four  miles  distant,  where  it  is  crossed 


SIEGE  OF  PETERSBURG.  375 

by  the  Ford  road  at  right  angles  ;  a  road  from  Din- 
widdie  courthouse  joins  the  intersection  of  the  two.  A 
person  at  that  point  could  therefore  travel  in  five  dif 
ferent  directions — east  or  west,  north  or  south,  or  south 
east — to  the  courthouse,  eight  miles  away,  from  which 
the  location  probably  derives  its  name.  Five  Forks,  in 
front  of  the  Southern  right,  became  a  strategic  point. 
If  Grant  occupied  it  he  could  tear  up  the  Southside 
Railroad  west  of  Sutherland  Station,  and,  while  holding 
Lee  in  his  lines,  detach  infantry  and  cavalry,  and  destroy 
the  Danville  Railroad,  the  only  connecting  link  with  the 
Southern  States. 

Sheridan's  large  cavalry  corps,  supported  by  War 
ren's  Fifth  and  Humphreys's  Second  Corps,  was  direct 
ed,  on  the  2pth,  to  Dinwiddie  Court  House,  the  infantry 
to  occupy  the  country  between  the  courthouse  and  Fed 
eral  left,  the  cavalry  the  courthouse.  Parke,  who  had 
succeeded  to  the  command  of  Burnside's  Ninth  Corps, 
Wright  with  his  Sixth,  and  Ord  with  the  Army  of  the 
James,  held  the  line  in  the  order  named  from  the  Appo- 
mattox  to  Lee's  right.  Ord,  in  command  of  the  Twenty- 
fourth  (Gibbon's)  and  Twenty-fifth  (Weitzel's)  Army 
Corps,  Butler's  old  army,  had  placed  Weitzel  in  charge 
of  the  defenses  at  Bermuda  Hundred  and  on  the  north 
side  of  the  James. 

The  purpose  of  the  Union  commander  to  get  around 
his  right  rear  and  break  up  his  railroad  connections 
was  promptly  perceived  by  Lee.  General  Anderson  was 
sent  at  once,  with  Bushrod  Johnson's  division  and  Wise's 
brigade,  to  his  extreme  right.  Pickett's  division  was 
also  transferred  to  that  point,  and  Fitz  Lee's  division 
of  cavalry  was  brought  from  the  north  side  of  James 
River  to  Five  Forks,  reaching  there  on  the  morning  of 
the  3oth ;  this  division  was  at  once  advanced  toward 
Dinwiddie  Court  House,  and  met,  fought,  and  checked 
the  Union  cavalry  under  Merritt,  advancing  from  that 
point  to  Five  Forks.  General  W.  H.  Payne,  whose  con 
spicuous  daring  and  gallant  conduct  on  every  battle 
field  had  made  him  so  well  known  to  the  public  and  the 
army,  was  here  severely  wounded.  At  sunset  Pickett, 
with  Corse's,  Terry's,  and  Stuart's  brigades  of  his  own 
division,  and  Ransom's  and  Wallace's  of  Johnson's  di- 
25 


3;6  GENERAL   LEE. 

vision,  arrived  at  Five  Forks,  and  so  did  the  cavalry 
divisions  of  W.  H.  F.  Lee  and  Rosser.  The  five  infantry 
brigades  under  Pickett  and  the  three  cavalry  divisions 
of  Fitz  Lee  moved  out  on  the  Dinwiddie  Court  House 
road  on  the  3ist,  and  attacked  and  drove  Sheridan's 
cavalry  corps  back  to  the  courthouse.  Night  put  an 
end  to  the  contest.  The  Confederates  fell  back  early 
on  the  morning  of  April  ist  to  Five  Forks,  to  prevent 
Warren's  Fifth  Corps,  which  had  moved  during  the  night 
to  Sheridan's  assistance,  from  attacking  their  left  rear. 
Sheridan  followed  with  Warren's  infantry  and  his  cav 
alry  ;  Pickett's  line  of  battle  ran  along  the  White  Oak 
road,  Munford's  cavalry  division  was  on  his  left,  W.  H. 
F.  Lee's  on  his  right,  and  Rosser  in  the  rear,  north  of 
Hatcher's  Run,  guarding  the  wagon  trains.  About  4 
p.  M.  Sheridan,  having  succeeded  in  massing  the  Fifth 
Corps,  concealed  by  the  woods  beyond  Pickett's  left,  at 
tacked  by  seizing  the  White  Oak  road  between  Pickett 
and  General  Lee's  lines,  four  miles  away,  with  Warren's 
infantry,  which  enabled  him  to  flank  Pickett's  line  with 
the  Fifth  Corps,  while  he  assailed  his  front  and  right 
with  his  cavalry  corps. 

Pickett  was  connected  with  the  main  line  of  his  army 
by  the  cavalry  pickets  of  Roberts's  brigade,  and  was  cut 
off  from  support  and  badly  defeated,  in  spite  of  his  right 
making  a  gallant  resistance,  in  which  W.  H.  F.  Lee,  with 
one  of  his  cavalry  brigades,  in  a  brilliant  encounter,  re 
pulsed  two  brigades  under  Custer.  The  Confederates 
lost  between  three  and  four  thousand  men,  thirteen 
colors,  and  six  guns.  Pickett's  isolated  position  was 
unfortunately  selected.  A  line  behind  Hatcher's  Run  or 
at  Sutherland  Station  could  not  have  been  flanked,  but 
might  been  maintained  until  re-enforced  by  troops  drawn 
from  the  Southern  right  at  the  Claiborne  road  crossing 
of  Hatcher's  Run.  The  Confederate  cavalry  were  with 
drawn  during  the  night  to  the  Southside  Railroad,  and 
were  joined  there  by  Hunton's  brigade  of  Pickett's 
division  and  by  General  Bushrod  Johnson,  with  Wise's, 
Gracies's,  and  Fulton's  brigade,  all  under  the  command 
of  General  R.  H.  Anderson. 

The  disaster  at  Five  Forks  was  the  beginning  of  the 
end.  Two  large  infantry  and  one  cavalry  corps,  making 


SIEGE   OF  PETERSBURG.  377 

a  total  of  fifty  thousand  officers  and  men,*  with  a  rov 
ing  commission  in  front  of  Lee's  extreme  right,  im 
periled  his  communications  most  seriously,  as  well  as 
the  safety  of  his  lines.  The  Southern  general  could  not 
risk  another  attack  outside  of  his  works,  and,  in  order 
to  strengthen  that  portion  of  them  sufficiently  to  resist 
assault,  had  so  weakened  what  remained  that  it  became 
vulnerable.  From  the  Appomattox  to  the  right  center 
the  thin  gray  line  was  so  stretched  that  it  was  not  as 
formidable  as  a  well-prepared  skirmish  line.  Though 
holding  with  tenacity  to  his  right,  Lee  must  let  the  bars 
down  elsewhere.  Thirty-five  thousand  muskets  were 
guarding  thirty-seven  miles  of  intrenchments. 

Grant  on  the  night  of  April  ist  was  at  Dabney's 
Mill,  a  mile  or  two  south  of  Boydton  plank  road,  which 
runs  from  Dinwiddie  Court  House  to  Petersburg.  Colo 
nel  Horace  Porter,  his  aid-de-camp,  first  gave  him  the 
news  of  Sheridan's  success  at  9  p.  M.  that  night  as  he 
was  sitting  before  "a  blazing  camp  fire  with  his  blue 
cavalry  overcoat  on  and  the  ever-present  cigar  in  his 
mouth."  He  sent  over  the  field-wires  at  once  orders  for 
an  immediate  assault  along  the  lines,  but  subsequently 
directed  the  attack  to  be  made  at  4  A.  M.  the  next  day. 
All  during  the  night  a  bombardment  was  kept  up  on  all 
portions  of  the  Confederate  lines.  At  dawn  on  Sunday, 
April  2d,  Parke  and  Wright,  with  the  Ninth  and  Sixth 
Corps,  and  Ord,  with  the  Army  of  the  James,  successfully 
assaulted  the  attenuated  lines  in  their  front.  The  task 
was  easy,  and  while  handfuls  of  brave  men  heroically 
resisted,  like  shooting  stars  their  course  was  brilliant 
but  brief.  The  storming  pioneer  parties  everywhere  cut 
away  the  abatis  and  chevaux-de-frise,  and  through  the 
opening  the  blue  masses  poured  into  the  works.  There 
were  high  parapets  and  high  relief  and  deep  ditches; 
but  the  troops  had  been  drawn  away  to  the  Southern 
right,  and  except  here  and  there,  notably  at  Fort  Gregg, 
it  was  only  a  matter  of  physical  agility  to  climb  over 
them.  Only  small  garrisons  were  in  the  forts,  and  very 
few  men  in  the  connecting  lines. 

Four  small  brigades,  Wilcox's  division,  Hill's  corps — 

*  Morning  report,  Army  of  the  Potomac,  March  31,  1864. 


378 


GENERAL   LEE. 


viz.,  Thomas's,  Lane's,  Davis's,  and  McCombs's — held 
the  entire  line  in  the  front  of  the  armies  of  Ord  and 
Wright,  while  Gordon,  with  a  few  thousand  troops,  held 
in  front  of  Parke's  Ninth  Corps.  Lee's  troops  were 
forced  back  to  an  inner  line  whose  flanks  rested  on  the 
river  above  and  below  Petersburg,  and  there  resisted  all 
further  attempts  to  break  through  them.  Before  10  A.  M., 
Lee  knew  he  could  only  hope  to  cling  to  his  trenches 
until  night,  and  that  the  longer  defense  of  Richmond 
and  Petersburg  was  not  possible.  All  his  skill  would  be 
required  to  extricate  his  army  and  get  it  out  and  away 
from  the  old  lines.  Longstreet  reached  Lee  from  the 
north  side  of  the  James  about  10  A.  M.  on  the  2d,  with 
Field's  division.  It  is  stated  that  he  had  not  perceived 
that  the  Federal  lines  in  front  of  Richmond  had  been 
weakened  by  transferring  troops  to  the  vicinity  of 
Petersburg,  and  hence  did  not  move  to  Lee  earlier,  as 
he  had  been  instructed  to  do  in  that  event.  In  the 
midst  of  the  turmoil,  excitement,  and  danger,  Lee  was 
as  calm  and  collected  as  ever.  When  the  Sixth  Corps 
broke  over  A.  P.  Hill's  lines,  that  officer  was  at  General 
Lee's  headquarters  at  the  Turnbull  House,  and  rode  at 
once  rapidly  to  his  front,  where  he  was  killed  by  some 
stragglers  who  had  crossed  the  Boydton  road  in  the 
direction  of  the  railroad,  whose  presence  in  that  vicinity 
he  did  not  expect.  Hill  in  many  respects  was  a  good 
officer— earnest,  dashing,  zealous,  and  prompt  to  exe 
cute;  he  had  rendered  marked  service  throughout  the 
whole  war,  and  his  light  division  had  written  many  vic 
tories  upon  its  proud  standards. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

EVACUATION     OF     RICHMOND     AND     THE     PETERSBURG 
LINES. — RETREAT    AND    SURRENDER. 

GENERAL  LEE  on  the  morning  of  April  2d  telegraphed 
Breckinridge,  Secretary  of  War,  that  it  was  necessary 
his  position  should  be  abandoned  that  night,  "  or  run 
the  risk  of  being  cut  off  in  the  morning;  it  will  be  a 
difficult  but  I  hope  not  an  impracticable  operation.  The 
troops  will  all  be  directed  to  Amelia  Court  House."  He 
advised  that  all  preparations  be  made  for  leaving  Rich 
mond  that  night.  The  Southern  President  was  kept  in 
formed  on  all  subjects  connected  with  the  army,  and  of 
course  knew  that  a  crisis  in  its  affairs  was  approaching, 
which  involved  the  evacuation  of  its  position ;  but  he 
was  not  prepared  for  a  precipitate  announcement  to  that 
effect,  or  indeed  for  any  change  of  affairs  for  two  weeks. 
On  April  2d  he  occupied  his  accustomed  seat,  about  the 
center  of  the  middle  aisle,  in  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church, 
Richmond,  much  interested  as  usual  in  the  services  con 
ducted  by  his  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Minnigerode.  There 
he  received  a  dispatch.  Upon  reading  it,  he  quietly  rose 
and  left  the  church.  The  telegram  was  from  General 
Lee,  announcing  his  speedy  withdrawal  from  Petersburg. 
Lee's  decision  quickly  became  generally  known  in  the 
two  cities,  and  the  feeling  produced  can  readily  be  im 
agined.  Women  prayed,  men  wept,  children  wondered. 
Three  exits  remained  only  for  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia — one  north  of  Richmond,  one  west,  and  one 
southwest.  No  object  could  now  be  achieved  by  march 
ing  in  the  first  two  directions,  but  by  the  remaining  one 
Johnston  might  be  reached,  and  his  communications  by 
the  Danville  Railroad  with  the  South  be  maintained. 

(379) 


380  GENERAL   LEE. 

On  the  afternoon  of  April  2d  Lee  issued  orders  for  his 
troops  to  leave  their  lines  everywhere  at  8  p.  M.,  and 
take  up  the  line  of  march  for  Amelia  Court  House. 

This  little  village  is  on  the  Richmond  and  Danville 
Railroad,  thirty-eight  miles  southwest  of  Richmond.  At 
that  point  it  was  determined  to  concentrate,  issue — won 
derful  to  relate — abundant  rations  to  the  troops,  and  get 
them  again  in  shape  after  the  heavy  work  of  the  past 
few  days  and  the  night  march.  As  Grant's  army  was 
stretched  to  the  Appomattox  on  the  south  side  above 
Petersburg,  Lee  must  march  up  its  north  side.  Long- 
street's,  Hill's,  and  Gordon's  corps  crossed  the  Appo 
mattox  that  night,  the  two  former  at  Battersea  factory 
pontoon  bridge,  the  latter  at  Pocahontas  and  Railroad 
bridge,  and  moved — via  Bevel's  and  Goode's  bridges  on 
the  Appomattox  below  where  it  is  crossed  by  the  Dan 
ville  Railroad — to  Amelia  Court  House.  Mahone's  di 
vision  was  directed  to  the  same  point,  via  Chesterfield 
Court  House.  Ewell,  commanding  the  troops  in  front 
of  Richmond,  Kershaw's  and  Custis  Lee's  divisions,  and 
the  naval  brigade,  was  instructed  to  cross  to  the  south 
side  of  James  River,  cross  the  Appomattox  at  Goode's 
bridge,  and  join  the  army  at  Amelia  Court  House.  The 
commands  of  Pickett  and  Bushrod  Johnson  and  the  cav 
alry,  being  west  of  Petersburg  and  of  the  Federal  lines, 
moved  up  the  south  bank  of  the  Appomattox.  General 
Lee  was  not  able  to  concentrate  all  his  troops  at  Amelia 
Court  House  until  midday  on  the  5th,  Ewell  being  the 
last  to  arrive.  The  small  army  was  now  divided  into 
four  small  infantry  corps  or  commands,  and  a  cavalry 
corps  commanded  respectively  by  Longstreet,  Ewell,  R. 
H.  Anderson,  Gordon,  and  Fitzhugh  Lee.  Mahone's 
division  was  assigned  to  Longstreet's  corps,  and  the 
naval  battalion  of  Commodore  Tucker  to  General  Cus 
tis  Lee's  division. 

The  troops,  though  suffering  for  food  and  raiment, 
want  of  sleep,  and  marching  over  roads  heavy  from 
copious  rains,  were  buoyant  in  spirit,  brave  in  heart, 
and  of  undoubted  morale;  nearly  every  one  of  them 
was  a  survivor  of  bloody  battles  and  a  veteran  of  years 
of  terrible  war.  They  were  soldiers  of  no  "  ordinary 
mold,  who  had  an  abiding  faith  amounting  to  fanati- 


EVACUATION   OF   RICHMOND.  381 

cism  that  the  God  of  battles  would  in  the  end  send  their 
cause  safe  deliverance,  and  they  followed  Lee  with  an 
almost  childlike  faith,  which  set  no  bounds  to  his  genius 
and  power  of  achievement."  Shut  up  so  long  in  dismal, 
dangerous  trenches,  the  fields,  running  streams,  trees 
thick  with  bursting  buds  of  spring,  grass  growing  green 
under  the  kisses  of  the  sun,  and  new  scenes,  were  to 
them  most  refreshing  and  exhilarating. 

In  obedience  to  a  law  of  Congress,  Ewell,  in  com 
mand  at  Richmond,  had  made  arrangements  to  burn 
the  tobacco  there  whenever  the  evacuation  of  the  city 
should  render  that  necessary  to  prevent  it  from  falling 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  After  the  departure  of 
the  Southern  troops,  the  fire  got  beyond  local  control. 
Mrs.  Lee's  house,  in  the  center  of  the  square  on  Frank 
lin  Street  between  Seventh  and  Eighth,  was  at  one  time 
in  danger  from  the  conflagration,  a  large  church  on  the 
opposite  side  having  caught  fire  from  flying  sparks,  and 
many  offers  were  made  by  persons  rushing  to  her  room 
to  move  her  elsewhere,  which  she  resisted.  In  the  midst 
of  the  excitement  a  gentleman  cried  that  the  only  way 
to  save  the  square  in  which  she  lived  was  to  blow  up 
every  other  house,  and  all  were  so  agitated  that  they 
readily  acquiesced  in  the  remarkable  suggestion,  and 
seemed  much  pleased  at  the  ready  ability  of  the  person 
who  could  devise  at  such  a  time  a  remedy ;  while  the 
poor  property  holder  immediately  began  to  calculate  if 
his  dwelling  would  be  the  "  every  other  house."  Graphic 
pictures  have  been  painted  in  well-chosen  phrase  of  the 
exciting  scenes  of  April  3d.  On  one  side  the  retreat 
ing  march  of  the  Confederates,  on  the  other  the  tri 
umphant  advance  of  the  Federals;  while  between  the 
two,  great  pillars  of  fire  rose  draped  in  the  smoke  of 
a  burning  city.  The  tattered,  brown,  weather-beaten 
army  is  marching  away  through  woods  and  over  roads 
with  straggling  trains ;  the  faces  of  the  soldiers  are 
turned  from  Richmond.  The  victorious  legions,  glis 
tening  with  steel,  with  clashing  music  and  waving  ban 
ners,  are  pouring  into  the  city,  marching  through  the 
streets,  and  stacking  arms  in  the  Public  Square,  where 
"  stood  the  dumb  walls  of  the  Capitol  of  the  Confeder 
acy."  White  clouds  of  dense  smoke  with  the  light  of  the 


382  GENERAL   LEE. 

fire  woven  in  their  folds,  reaching  from  the  island-dotted 
river  to  the  tall  trees  on  the  hill  of  the  Public  Square, 
hung  in  the  sky  above  the  fated  city. 

At  the  same  time  Grant  rode  into  Petersburg  be 
tween  rows  of  closed  houses  and  deserted  streets,  cheered 
here  and  there  by  a  few  groups  of  negroes,  until  he  came 
to  a  comfortable-looking  brick  house  with  a  yard  in 
front,  where  he  dismounted  and  with  his  staff  took  seats 
on  the  piazza..  There  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  had  been  for 
some  days  at  City  Point,  joined  him.  "  I  doubt,"  said 
an  eye  witness,  "whether  Mr.  Lincoln  ever  experienced 
a  happier  moment  in  his  life,"  as,  seizing  General  Grant's 
hand,  he  congratulated  him  on  his  success.  The  Union 
commander  then  set  out  for  Sutherland  Station,  above 
Petersburg,  where  he  and  Meade  passed  the  night  of 
the  3d.  Mr.  Lincoln  afterward  went  to  Richmond  ;  he 
was  curious  to  see  the  house  Mr.  Davis  had  lived  in. 
With  a  stride  described  as  long  and  careless  he  walked 
its  streets,  and  asked  "  Is  it  far  to  President  Davis's 
house  ? "  Upon  reaching  the  house,  Captain  Graves,  aid- 
de-camp  to  General  Weitzel,  whose  Twenty-fifth  Corps 
first  entered  the  city,  states  that  he  took  a  seat  in  a  chair, 
remarking,  "  This  must  have  been  President  Davis's 
chair,"  and  then  jumped  up  and  said  in  a  boyish  man 
ner,  "Come,  let  us  look  at  the  house."  Mr.  Davis  was 
then  in  Danville,  from  which  place  on  the  5th  he  pub 
lished  a  proclamation  in  which  he  tells  his  countrymen 
not  to  despond,  "  but,  relying  on  God,  meet  the  foe  with 
fresh  defiance  and  with  unconquered  and  unconquerable 
hearts." 

Grant  gave  orders  for  a  vigorous  pursuit  in  two  col 
umns  south  of  Appomattox  parallel  to  Lee's  route  north 
of  it — one  under  Ord  up  the  Southside  or  Lynchburg 
Railroad  to  Burkeville  Junction,  fifty-two  miles  from 
Petersburg;  the  other  under  Sheridan,  who  had  the  cav 
alry  corps  and  Second,  Fifth,  and  Sixth  Infantry  Corps, 
on  a  route  between  Ord  and  Lee.  These  movements 
directly  west,  if  properly  made,  would  plant  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  across  the  Danville  road  at  Burkeville, 
as  well  as  at  another  point  between  there  and  Amelia 
Court  House,  twenty  miles  northeast  of  Burkeville.  In 
that  case  Lee's  withdrawal  to  Danville  would  be  blocked, 


EVACUATION  OF   RICHMOND.  383 

his  junction  with  Johnston  foiled,  and  the  use  of  the  Dan 
ville  Railroad  taken  away  from  him.  Sheridan  arrived 
at  Jetersviile — on  the  Danville  Railroad,  seven  miles 
from  Amelia  Court  House,  where  Lee  was  that  morning — 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  4th,  with  some  eighteen  thou 
sand  troops  of  all  arms,  and  intrenched.  Meade  did  not 
reach  him  until  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  5th.  The 
last  of  Lee's  force,  Ewell,  it  will  be  remembered,  did  not 
reach  Amelia  Court  House  until  noon  that  day.  Still, 
if  Lee's  supplies  had  been  there  as  ordered,  he  might 
have  moved  against  Sheridan  at  Jetersviile  very  early  on 
the  5th  with  his  whole  force  except  Ewell,  over  twenty 
thousand  men,  and  defeated  him  and  reached  Burkeville, 
thirteen  miles  farther,  before  Ord,  who  arrived  there 
late  that  night. 

Had  Lee  once  passed  beyond  Burkeville,  the  Dan 
ville  road  could  have  supplied  his  army,  its  trains  trans 
ported  them  to  Danville,  and  via  Greensborough  to 
Raleigh  and  Goldsborough,  or  wherever  Johnston  was, 
or  Johnston's  force  could  have  been  rapidly  brought  to 
the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  "  Not  finding  the  sup 
plies  ordered  to  be  placed  at  Amelia  Court  House,"  says 
Lee,  "  nearly  twenty-four  hours  were  lost  in  endeavor 
ing  to  collect  in  the  country  subsistence  for  men  and 
horses.  The  delay  was  fatal,  and  could  not  be  re 
trieved."  There  is  some  mystery  about  these  supplies. 
Lee  ordered  them  to  be  sent  there  from  Danville,  for  he 
has  so  stated ;  and  General  J.  M.  St.  John,  then  commis 
sary  general,  states  that  on  April  i,  1865,  there  were  five 
hundred  thousand  rations  of  bread,  and  one  million  five 
hundred  thousand  rations  of  meat  at  Danville,  and  three 
hundred  thousand  rations  of  bread  and  meat  in  Rich 
mond,  and  that  he  received  no  orders  to  send  supplies 
to  Amelia  Court  House  either  from  Richmond  or  Dan 
ville  ;  and  Mr.  Lewis  Harvie,  then  the  president  of  the 
Richmond  and  Danville  Railroad,  has  testified  that  no 
orders  were  ever  given  to  his  officers  to  transport  any 
rations  to  Amelia  Court  House.  It  has  been  stated  that 
on  that  famous  Sunday  a  train-load  of  supplies  arrived 
at  Amelia  Court  House  from  Danville,  but  the  officer  in 
charge  was  met  there  by  an  order  to  bring  the  train  to 
Richmond,  because  the  cars  were  needed  for  the  trans- 


384  GENERAL  LEE. 

portation  of  the  personal  property  of  the  Confederate 
authorities.  Mr.  Davis  was  in  ignorance  of  any  such 
instruction,  and  would  be  the  last  man  to  place  his  per 
sonal  wants  or  desires  ahead  of  the  necessities  of  the 
soldiers,  and  the  commissary  general  and  the  railroad 
president  also  testify  that  they  knew  nothing  of  any 
such  orders. 

Cut  off  from  Danville,  the  Southern  troops  were  di 
rected  on  Farmville,  thirty-five  miles  west,  and  broke 
camp  on  the  night  of  the  5th.  Meade  had  proposed  to 
attack  Lee  with  the  Second,  Fifth,  and  Sixth  Corps  and 
Sheridan's  cavalry  at  Amelia  Court  House  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  6th,  and  did  not  know  he  had  moved  un 
til  he  had  proceeded  within  a  few  miles  of  that  village. 
Longstreet,  in  the  advance,  reached  Rice  Station,  on  the 
Lynchburg  Railroad,  on  the  morning  of  the  6th,  and 
formed  line  of  battle ;  he  was  followed  by  the  commands 
of  R.  H.  Anderson,  Ewell,  and  Gordon,  and  W.  H.  F. 
Lee's  cavalry  division  in  the  order  named.  The  re 
mainder  of  the  cavalry,  under  Rosser,  had  been  passed 
to  the  front  to  protect  the  High  Bridge  between  Rice 
Station  and  Farmville,  and  were  just  in  time,  as  General 
Ord  had  sent  out  two  regiments  of  infantry  and  his 
headquarters  cavalry  to  burn  that  bridge  and  the  one 
above  at  Farmville. 

General  Theodore  Read,  of  Ord's  staff,  conducted 
the  party.  A  fight  ensued,  in  which  General  Read  and 
Colonel  Washburn,  commanding  the  infantry,  and  all 
the  cavalry  officers  were  killed  on  the  Federal  side,  and 
General  Dearing,  commanding  a  brigade  of  Rosser's 
division ;  Colonel  Boston,  the  Fifth  Virginia  Cavalry ; 
and  Major  Thompson,  commanding  Rosser's  horse  artil 
lery,  were  killed  on  the  Confederate  side.  The  Federal 
force  surrendered.  The  three  Southern  officers  killed 
were  exceptionally  fine  soldiers,  and  their  loss  was 
greatly  deplored. 

Anderson's  march  was  much  interrupted  by  the  at 
tack  of  the  Federal  cavalry  on  his  flank.  Halting  to 
repel  them  and  save  the  trains,  a  gap  was  made  between 
the  head  of  his  column  and  the  rear  of  Longstreet's,  into 
which,  after  he  had  crossed  Sailor's  Creek — a  small  trib 
utary  flowing  north  into  the  Appomattox — the  large 


EVACUATION   OF   RICHMOND.  385 

force  of  Union  cavalry  was  thrust,  and  mounted  and 
dismounted  cavalry  stopped  him  and  compelled  him  to 
deploy  in  their  front.  .Ewell  followed  Anderson  across 
Sailor's  Creek,  but  Gordon,  guarding  an  immense  wagon 
train,  turned  to  his  right  down  the  creek  before  crossing 
it  on  a  road  running  to  High  Bridge.  The  Sixth  Corps 
getting  up  on  Ewell's  rear,  made  him  face  his  two  divi 
sions  about — Kershaw  on  the  right  of  the  road  and  Custis 
Lee  on  the  left,  the  navy  battalion  in  rear  of  his  right. 
Anderson  and  Ewell  were  facing  in  opposite  directions, 
and  neither  had  any  artillery.  Enveloped  on  both  flanks 
and  front  in  the  combat  which  followed,  Ewell  was  over 
whelmed,  not  more  than  three  hundred  men  of  his  three 
thousand  escaping.  Anderson  was  simultaneously  at 
tacked  on  front  and  flank,  and  also  defeated.  Both 
commands  lost,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners  nearly 
six  thousand  men.  Among  the  prisoners  were  Generals 
Corse  and  Hunton,  of  Pickett's  division,  and  Generals 
Ewell,  Custis  Lee,  Kershaw,  and  Dubose,  of  Ewell's. 

Humphreys's  Second  Corps  in  the  meantime  closely 
followed  Gordon,  and  had  a  running  contest  with  his 
rear  for  some  miles,  capturing  thirteen  flags,  four  guns, 
and  some  seventeen  hundred  prisoners.  Gordon  reached 
High  Bridge  that  night,  but  lost  a  large  part  of  a  wagon 
train  which  had  given  the  Confederates  much  trouble  on 
the  whole  march  and  greatly  delayed  their  progress,  be 
cause  drawn  by  weak  animals  over  roads  soft  and  muddy 
from  the  recent  rains.  Longstreet,  after  waiting  in  vain 
for  the  other  commands  to  join  him  at  Rice  Station, 
under  instructions  marched  with  the  divisions  of  Heth, 
Wilcox,  and  Field  for  Farmville,  and  that  night  crossed 
to  the  north  side  of  the  Appomattox.  He  had  crossed 
that  river  twice  already — once  at  Petersburg  and  once 
at  Goode's  Bridge.  Fitz  Lee's  cavalry  corps  followed 
him,  crossing  the  river  above  Farmville  by  a  deep  ford, 
leaving  a  force  to  burn  the  bridge.  Gordon,  to  whose 
command  Bushrod  Johnson's  division  had  been  assigned, 
crossed  at  High  Bridge,  below  Farmville,  and  so  did 
Mahone  with  his  fine  division. 

At  Farmville  the  Confederates  feasted.  It  was  the 
first  occasion  since  leaving  Richmond  that  rations  had 
been  issued,  and  their  outdoor  exercise  had  given  them 


386  GENERAL  LEE. 

an  appetite.  Previous  to  this,  organized  bodies  had 
been  marched  up  to  the  corn  houses  en  route,  and  each 
soldier  given  a  dozen  ears  of  corn,  with  a  suggestion 
that  he  parch  the  grains  on  getting  into  camp.  An  en- 
enthusiastic  young  Irishman  from  Belturbet,  County  of 
Cavan,  named  Llewellyn  Saunderson,  reached  the  coun 
try  in  one  of  the  last  vessels  running  the  blockade,  and, 
being  a  Southern  sympathizer,  reported  to  the  War  De 
partment,  asking  to  be  commissioned  and  sent  to  the 
field.  It  was  done,  and  he  was  ordered  to  report  to 
General  Fitz  Lee.  His  pockets  were  full  of  gold,  and 
he  quickly  purchased  a  fine  horse,  the  gray  uniform  of 
the  staff  officer,  and  joined  the  staff  but  a  short  time 
before  the  final  attack.  The  rear  guard  of  cavalry  from 
Petersburg  to  Appomattox  was  obliged  to  pass  over 
ground  gleaned  by  the  preceding  infantry  and  artillery. 
Occasionally  a  trooper  would  secure  a  can  of  butter 
milk,  but  corn,  divided  between  horses  and  troopers, 
was  the  "  solid  comfort."  Saunderson  was  bold,  bright, 
and  witty  of  course,  behaving  admirably  under  fire,  and 
cheerfully  under  the  treatment  he  received.  He  was 
paroled  at  Appomattox  Court  House,  and  returned  to 
the  "  Green  Isle  "  loaded  with  war  experience.  When 
asked  in  Richmond  what  he  would  say  to  his  country 
men  about  the  Confederates,  he  replied,  "  Oh,  I  never 
saw  men  fight  better,  but  they  don't  ate  enough." 

The  once  great  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  was  now 
composed  of  two  small  corps  of  infantry  and  the  cav 
alry  corps,  and  resumed  the  march  toward  Lynchburg 
on  the  old  stage  road,  but  after  going  four  miles  stopped  ; 
and  was  formed  into  line  of  battle  in  a  well-chosen  posi 
tion  to  give  the  trains  time  to  get  ahead.  It  was  at 
tacked  by  two  divisions  of  Humphreys's  Second  Corps, 
which  had  been  long  hanging  on  its  rear,  but  repulsed 
them,  Mahone  handling  Miles  very  roughly.  Humphreys 
lost  five  hundred  and  seventy-one  men  killed,  wounded, 
and  missing.  Preceding  this  attack,  Crook's  cavalry  di 
vision  crossed  the  river  above  Farmville,  and  was  im 
mediately  charged  with  great  success  by  the  Southern 
cavalry  and  driven  back.  The  Federal  General  Gregg 
and  a  large  number  of  prisoners  were  taken.  General 
Lee  was  talking  to  the  commander  of  his  cavalry  when 


EVACUATION   OF   RICHMOND.  387 

Crook  appeared,  saw  the  combat,  and  expressed  great 
pleasure  at  the  result. 

Had  Lee  not  stopped  to  fight  he  could  have  reached 
Appomattox  Station  on  the  afternoon  of  the  8th,  ob 
tained  rations,  and  moved  that  evening  to  Lynchburg. 
The  delay  allowed  Sheridan— with  two  divisions  of  cav 
alry,  followed  by  Ord's  infantry  and  Fifth  Corps,  march 
ing  by  Prince  Edward  Court  House — to  reach  Appomat 
tox  Station  on  the  evening  of  the  8th,  where  he  captured 
trains  with  Lee's  supplies  and  obstructed  his  march. 
Ord's  infantry  did  not  arrive  in  front  of  Appomattox 
Court  House  until  10  A.  M.  on  the  Qth.  Having  demon 
strated  that  what  was  left  of  his  proud  army  would  rush 
to  battle  as  of  old,  Lee  on  the  night  of  the  7th  con 
tinued  his  retreat — Gordon  in  advance,  next  Longstreet, 
then  the  cavalry — and  on  the  evening  of  the  8th  halted 
in  the  vicinity  of  Appomattox  Court  House.  The  Sec 
ond  and  Sixth  Corps  resumed  the  direct  pursuit  at  half- 
past  five  on  the  morning  of  the  8th,  and  that  night  went 
into  camp  three  miles  in  the  rear  of  Longstreet.  The 
Confederate  cavalry  had  marched  from  the  rear  to  the 
front  during  the  night,  with  orders  to  resume  the  march 
at  one  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  the  Qth.  "  Fitz  Lee, 
with  the  cavalry  supported  by  Gordon,"  says  General 
Lee,  "  was  ordered  to  drive  the  enemy  from  his  front, 
wheel  to  the  left,  and  cover  the  passage  of  the  trains, 
while  Longstreet  should  close  up  and  hold  the  positioa 
During  the  night  there  were  indications  of  a  large  force 
massing  on  our  left  and  front.  Fitz  Lee  was  directed  to 
ascertain  its  strength,  and  to  suspend  his  advance  until 
daylight  if  necessary."  It  was  General  Lee's,  intention 
to  move  by  Campbell  Court  House  through  Pittsylyania 
County  toward  Danville.  Two  battalions  of  artillery 
and  the  ammunition  wagons  were  directed  to  accom 
pany  the  army,  the  rest  of  the  artillery  and  wagons  to 
move  toward  Lynchburg ;  but  the  plan  could  not  be  exe 
cuted.  Sheridan  had  been  joined  by  Crook,  and  had 
thrown  the  immense  cavalry  corps  directly  across  his 
path,  between  Appomattox  Station  and  the  Court  House, 
the  two  places  being  five  miles  apart ;  and  Ord,  with 
the  Army  of  the  James  and  the  Fifth  Corps,  was  rapidly 
marching  to  his  support,  joining  him  at  9  or  10  A.  M.  on 


388  GENERAL   LEE. 

the  9th.  The  greater  part  of  Gibbon's  Twenty-fourth 
Corps,  a  portion  of  Weitzel's  Twenty-fifth  Corps,  the 
Fifth  Corps,  and  four  divisions  of  cavalry,  including 
Mackenzie,  formed  a  living  rampart  of  over  forty  thou 
sand  troops*  to  the  advance  of  Gordon  and  Fitz  Lee's 
five  thousand.  Directly  behind  Lee  were  the  Second 
and  Sixth  Corps,  over  twenty-five  thousand  troops. f 

Gracefully  General  Lee  yielded  to  the  inevitable.  The 
splendid  army,  with  whose  courage  and  heroism  a  world 
was  familiar,  was  reduced  to  a  fragment  of  brave  men, 
many  of  whom,  from  exposure  and  want  of  food,  could 
not  lift  a  musket  to  the  shoulder.  The  end  which  Lee 
feared  and  Grant  expected  had  come.  For  some  days 
the  latter  had  been  thinking  how  best  he  could  intro 
duce  the  subject  of  surrender  to  Lee,  to  relieve  him 
from  initiating  an  embarrassing  proposition.  The  Union 
commander  arrived  at  Farmville  a  little  before  noon  on 
April  yth,  establishing  headquarters  at  the  village  hotel. 
He  told  Ord,  Gibbon,  and  Wright,  who  had  called  at  the 
hotel,  that  he  was  thinking  of  sending  a  communication 
to  General  Lee  "  to  pave  the  way  to  the  stopping  of  fur 
ther  bloodshed  " ;  he  had  heard,  too,  that  Ewell,  then  a 
prisoner,  had  said  that  "  it  was  the  duty  of  the  authori 
ties  to  negotiate  for  peace  now,  and  that  for  every  man 
killed  somebody  would  be  responsible,  and  it  would  be 
little  better  than  murder."  Influenced  by  such  reflec 
tions,  he  wrote  the  following  communication  : 

^77,1865. 

GENERAL  :  The  result  of  the  last  week  must  convince  you  of 
the  hopelessness  of  further  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia  in  this  struggle.  I  feel  that  it  is  so,  and  regard 
it  as  my  duty  to  shift  from  myself  the  responsibility  of  any  further 
effusion  of  blood,  by  asking  of  you  the  surrender  of  that  portion 

*  Ord  left  Petersburg  with  twenty  thousand  troops  all  arms  ;  Fifth 
Corps,  fifteen  thousand  nine  hundred  and  seventy- three.  (Report  of 
March  31,  1865.)  Sheridan's  cavalry,  thirteen  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  ten,  to  which  add  one  thousand  for  the  Fifth  Corps  artillery, 
makes  fifty  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-three. 

f  Second  Corps  report,  March  31,  1865  :  Twenty-one  thousand  one 
hundred  and  sixty-seven  infantry,  artillery,  and  seventy  guns.  Sixth : 
Eighteen  thousand  three  hundred  and  eighty-four  artillery  and  infantry 
and  fifty-four  guns= thirty-nine  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty-one, 
and  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  guns. 


EVACUATION   OF   RICHMOND.  389 

of  the  Confederate  States  army  known  as  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia.  U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieutenant  General. 

General  R.  E.  LEE. 

General  Seth  Williams,  his  adjutant  general,  a  for 
mer  intimate  friend  of  General  Lee's  and  his  adjutant 
when  he  was  superintendent  at  West  Point,  carried  this 
communication  across  the  river  to  Humphreys,  who  sent 
it  at  once  through  his  lines  to  Lee,  who  was  still  in  the 
position  from  which  he  had  repulsed  Humphreys's  attack 
that  day.  Humphreys  received  Grant's  note  at  8.30  p.  M., 
and  Grant,  Lee's  reply  after  midnight,  which  read : 

April  7,  1865. 

GENERAL  :  I  have  received  your  note  of  this  date.  Though 
not  entertaining  the  opinion  you  express  on  the  hopelessness  oC 
further  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. 
I  reciprocate  your  desire  to  avoid  useless  effusion  of  blood,  and 
therefore,  before  considering  your  proposition,  ask  the  terms  you 
will  offer  on  condition  of  its  surrender. 

R.  E.  LEE,  General. 
Lieutenant-General  U.  S.  GRANT. 

The  next  morning  a  reply  was  given  to  General 
Williams,  who  again  went  to  Humphreys  front  to  have 
it  transmitted  to  Lee's.  Williams  overtook  Humphreys 
on  the  march ;  his  letter  was  sent  at  once  through  the 
cavalry  rear  guard,  close  to  General  Humphreys's  front, 
to  General  Lee,  whose  reply  was  not  received  until  dusk 
by  Humphreys,  and  did  not  reach  General  Grant  until 
after  midnight,  at  a  large,  white  farmhouse  at  Curds- 
ville,  ten  miles  in  his  rear.  The  two  notes  of  that  day 
(8th)  are  as  follows : 

April^  1865. 

GENERAL  :  Your  note  of  last  evening,  in  reply  to  mine  of  the 
same  date,  asking  the  condition  on  which  I  will  accept  the  sur 
render  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  is  just  received.  In 
reply,  I  would  say  that,  peace  being  my  great  desire,  there  is  but 
one  condition  that  I  would  insist  upon — namely,  that  the  men  and 
officers  surrendered  shall  be  disqualified  for  taking  up  arms  again 
against  the  Government  of  the  United  States  until  properly  ex 
changed.  I  will  meet  you,  or  will  designate  officers  to  meet  any 
officers  you  may  name  for  the  same  purpose,  at  any  point  agree 
able  to  you,  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  definitely  the  terms  upon 
which  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  will  be 
received.  U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieutenant  General. 

General  R.  E.  LEE. 
26 


390 


GENERAL   LEE. 


April  8,  1868. 

GENERAL  :  I  received  at  a  late  hour  your  note  of  to-day.  In 
mine  of  yesterday  I  did  not  intend  to  propose  the  surrender  of 
the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  but  to  ask  the  terms  of  your 
proposition.  To  he  frank,  I  do  not  think  the  emergency  has 
arisen  to  call  for  the  surrender  of  this  army,  but  as  the  restora 
tion  of  peace  should  be  the  sole  object  of  all,  I  desire  to  know 
whether  your  proposal  would  lead  to  that  end.  I  can  not,  there 
fore,  meet  you  with  a  view  to  surrender  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia,  but  as  far  as  your  proposal  may  affect  the  Confederate 
States  forces  under  my  command,  and  tend  to  the  restoration  of 
peace,  I  should  be  pleased  to  meet  you  at  10  A.  M.  to-morrow  on 
the  old  stage  road  to  Richmond,  between  the  picket  lines  of  the 
two  armies.  R.  E.  LEE,  General. 

Lieutenant-General  U.  S.  GRANT. 

The  Federal  flag  of  truce  accompanying  Williams 
when  he  bore  Grant's  first  communication  appeared  in 
front  of  General  Sorrel's  Georgia  brigade,  formerly 
Wright's,  of  Mahone's  division,  about  9  p.  M.  Sorrel 
had  been  dangerously  wounded  at  Petersburg,  and  the 
brigade  was  commanded  by  Colonel  G.  E.  Tayloe.  This 
officer  sent  Colonel  Herman  H.  Perry,  his  adjutant 
general,  to  meet  the  flag,  who  advanced  some  distance 
from  his  lines,  and  met  a  very  handsomely  dressed  offi 
cer,  who  introduced  himself  as  General  Seth  Williams, 
of  General  Grant's  staff.  Perry's  worn  Confederate 
uniform  and  slouch  hat  did  not  compare  favorably  by 
moonlight  with  the  magnificence  of  Williams's,  but,  be 
ing  six  feet  high  and  a  fine-looking  fellow,  he  drew 
himself  up  proudly,  as  if  perfectly  satisfied  with  his 
personal  exterior. 

"After  I  had  introduced  myself,"  says  Perry,  "he 
felt  in  his  side  pocket  for  documents,  as  I  thought,  but 
the  document  was  a  very  nice-looking  silver  flask,  as 
well  as  I  could  distinguish.  He  remarked  that  he 
hoped  I  wouid  not  think  it  was  unsoldierly  if  he  offered 
me  some  very  fine  brandy.  I  will  own  up  now  that  I 
wanted  that  drink  awfully.  Worn  down,  hungry,  and 
dispirited,  it  would  have  been  a  gracious  godsend  if  some 
old  Confederate  and  I  could  have  emptied  that  flask 
between  us  in  that  dreadful  hour  of  misfortune.  But  I 
raised  myself  about  an  inch  higher,  if  possible,  bowed, 
and  refused  politely,  trying  to  produce  the  ridiculous 


EVACUATION   OF   RICHMOND.  391 

appearance  of  having  feasted  on  champagne  and  pound 
cake  not  ten  minutes  before,  and  I  had  not  the  slightest 
use  for  as  plebeian  a  drink  as  'fine  brandy.' 

"  He  was  a  true  gentleman,  begged  pardon,  and 
placed  the  flask  in  his  pocket  again  without  touching 
the  contents  in  my  presence.  If  he  had  taken  a  drink, 
and  my  Confederate  olfactories  had  obtained  a  whiff  of 
the  odor  of  it,  it  is  possible  that  I  should  have  'caved.' 
The  truth  is,  I  had  not  eaten  two  ounces  in  two  days, 
and  I  had  my  coat  tail  then  full  of  corn,  waiting  to  parch 
it  as  soon  as  an  opportunity  might  present  itself.  I  did 
not  leave  it  behind  me,  because  I  had  nobody  I  could 
trust  it  with.  As  an  excuse  which  I  felt  I  ought  to  make 
for  refusing  his  proffered  courtesy,  I  rather  haughtily 
said  that  I  had  been  sent  forward  only  to  receive  any 
communication  that  was  offered,  and  could  not  properly 
accept  or  offer  any  courtesies.  In  fact,  if  I  had  offered 
what  I  could,  it  would  have  taken  my  corn/'  Grant's 
note  to  Lee  being  then  transferred  from  Williams  to 
Perry,  the  Confederate  colonel  and  Federal  general 
bowed  profoundly  to  each  other  and  separated. 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th  General  Grant  dispatched 
another  note  to  General  Lee  as  follows : 

April 9,  1865. 

GENERAL  :  Your  note  of  yesterday  is  received.  I  have  no 
authority  to  treat  on  the  subject  of  peace ;  the  meeting  proposed 
for  10  A.  M.  to-day  could  lead  to  no  good.  I  will  state,  however, 
General,  that  I  am  equally  anxious  for  peace  with  yourself,  and  the 
whole  North  entertains  the  same  feeling.  The  terms  upon  which 
peace  can  be  had  are  well  understood.  By  the  South  laying 
down  their  arms  they  will  hasten  that  most  desirable  event,  save 
thousands  of  human  lives,  and  hundreds  of  millions  of  property 
not  yet  destroyed.  Seriously  hoping  that  all  our  difficulties  may 
be  settled  without  the  loss  of  another  life,  I  subscribe  myself,  etc., 
U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieutenant  General. 

General  R.  E.  LEE. 

Humphreys  sent  it  forward  by  Colonel  Whittier,  his 
adjutant  general,  who  met  Colonel  Marshall,  of  Lee's 
staff,  by  whom  he  was  conducted  to  the  general.  To 
this  note  Lee  replied  : 

April 9,  1865. 

GENERAL  :  I  received  your  note  of  this  morning  on  the  picket 
line  whither  I  had  come  to  meet  you  and  ascertain  definitely  what 
terms  were  embraced  in  your  proposal  of  yesterday  with  refer- 
26 


392 


GENERAL   LEE. 


ence  to  the  surrender  of  the  army.  I  now  ask  an  interview  in  ac 
cordance  with  the  offer  contained  in  your  letter  of  yesterday  for 
that  purpose.  R.  E.  LEE,  General. 

Lieutenant-General  U.  S.  GRANT. 

Grant,  who  received  this  note  eight  or  nine  miles 
from  Appomattox,  at  once  answered  it. 

April  9,  1865. 

GENERAL  R.  E.  LEE,  commanding  C.  S.  A. :  Your  note  of 
this  date  is  but  this  moment  (i  1.50  A.  M.)  received.  In  consequence 
of  my  having  passed  from  the  Richmond  and  Lynchburg  road 
to  the  Farmville  and,  Lynchburg  road,  I  am,  at  this  writing,  about 
four  miles  west  of  Walker's  Church,  and  will  push  forward  to  the 
front  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  you.  Notice  sent  to  me  on  this 
road  where  you  wish  the  interview  to  take  place  will  meet  me. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieutenant  General. 

The  reply  was  sent  direct  to  General  Lee  by  Colo 
nel  Babcock,  of  his  staff.  Lee  was  obliged  to  confront 
a  painful  issue.  His  duty  had  been  performed,  but  so 
earnest  was  he  in  trying  to  extricate  his  troops,  and 
carry  them  South,  that  he  had  failed  to  recognize  the 
hopelessness  of  further  resistance,  or  the  emergency 
that  called  for  the  su-rrender  of  his  army.  At  the  sug 
gestion  of  some  of  his  higher  officers,  General  Pendle- 
ton,  the  commander  of  his  reserve  artillery,  went  to  Lee 
on  the  yth  to  say  that  their  united  judgment  agreed 
that  it  was  wrong  to  have  more  men  on  either  side 
killed,  and  that  they  did  not  wish  that  he  should  bear 
the  entire  trial  of  reaching  that  conclusion.  But  Lee 
replied  that  he  had  too  many  brave  men  to  think  of 
laying  down  his  arms,  and  that  they  still  fought  with 
great  spirit ;  that  if  he  should  first  intimate  to  Grant 
that  he  would  listen  to  terms,  an  unconditional  surren 
der  might  be  demanded,  and  "sooner  than  that  I  am 
resolved  to  die."  Lee  had  not  altogether  abandoned 
the  purpose  to  march  South,  even  after  the  notes  of  the 
7th  and  8th  had  been  exchanged.  Longstreet,  Gordon, 
and  Fitz  Lee,  commanding  his  corps,  were  summoned 
to  his  headquarters  bivouac  fires  on  the  night  of  the 
8th,  near  Appomattox  Court  House.  The  situation  was 
explained  freely,  and  the  correspondence  with  Grant 
alluded  to.  It  was  decided  that  Gordon  and  Fitz  Lee 


EVACUATION  OF   RICHMOND. 


393 


should  attack  Sheridan's  cavalry  at  daylight  on  the  pth 
and  open  the  way;  but  in  case  the  cavalry  was  re- 
enforced  by  heavy  bodies  of  infantry,  the  commanding 
general  must  be  at  once  notified,  as  surrender  was  inevi 
table.  The  attack  was  made  at  sunrise,  and  the  Fed 
eral  cavalry  driven  back  with  the  loss  of  two  guns  and 
a  number  of  prisoners ;  the  arrival  at  this  time  of  two 
corps  of  Federal  infantry  necessitated  the  retirement 
of  the  Southern  lines.  General  Ord  states  that  he  was 
"  barely  in  time,  for,  in  spite  of  General  Sheridan's  at 
tempts,  the  cavalry  was  falling  back  in  confusion."  A 
white  flag  went  out  from  the  Southern  ranks,  the  firing 
ceased;  the  war  in  Virginia  was  over.  Colonel  Babcock, 
the  bearer  of  General  Grant's  last  note,  found  General 
Lee  near  Appomattox  Court  House,  lying  under  an  apple 
tree  upon  a  blanket  spread  on  some  rails,  from  which 
circumstance  the  widespread  report  originated  that  the 
surrender  took  place  under  an  apple  tree. 

General  Lee,  Colonel  Marshall,  of  his  staff,  Colonel 
Babcock,  of  General  Grant's,  and  a  mounted  orderly  rode 
to  the  village,  and  found  Mr.  Wilmer  McLean,  a  resident, 
who,  upon  being  told  that  General  Lee  wanted  the  use 
of  a  room  in  some  house,  conducted  the  party  to  his 
dwelling,  a  comfortable  two-story  brick,  with  a  porch  in 
front  running  the  length  of  the  house.  General  Lee 
was  ushered  into  the  room  on  the  left  of  the  hall  as  you 
enter,  and  about  one  o'clock  was  joined  by  General 
Grant,  his  staff,  and  Generals  Sheridan  and  Ord.  Grant 
sat  at  a  marble-topped  table  in  the  center  of  the  room, 
Lee  at  a  small  oval  table  near  the  front  window.  "  The 
contrast  between  the  commanders,"  said  one  who  was 
present,  "was  striking."  Grant,  not  yet  forty-three 
years  old,  five  feet  eight  inches  tall,  shoulders  slightly 
stooped,  hair  and  beard  nut  brown,  wearing  a  dark-blue 
flannel  blouse  unbuttoned,  showing  vest  beneath ;  ordi 
nary  top  boots,  trousers  inside ;  dark-yellow  thread 
gloves;  without  spurs  or  sword,  and  no  marks  of  rank 
except  a  general's  shoulder  straps.  Lee,  fifty-eight  years 
old,  six  feet  tall,  hair  and  beard  silver  gray ;  a  handsome 
uniform  of  Confederate  gray  buttoned  to  the  throat, 
with  three  stars  on  each  side  of  the  turned-down  collar, 
fine  top  boots  with  handsome  spurs,  elegant  gauntlets, 


394  GENERAL   LEE. 

and  at  his  side  a  splendid  sword.*  With  a  magnificent 
physique,  not  a  pound  of  superfluous  flesh,  ruddy  cheeks 
bronzed  by  exposure,  grave  and  dignified,  he  was  the 
focus  for  all  eyes.  "  His  demeanor  was  that  of  a  thor 
oughly  possessed  gentleman  who  had  a  disagreeable 
duty  to  perform,  but  was  determined  to  get  through 
it  as  well  and  as  soon  as  he  could  "  without  the  exhibi 
tion  of  temper  or  mortification.  Generals  Lee  and 
Grant  had  met  once,  eighteen  years  before,  when  both 
were  fighting  for  the  same  cause  in  Mexico — one  an 
engineer  officer  on  the  staff  of  Scott,  the  commanding 
general,  the  other  a  subaltern  of  infantry  in  Garland's 
brigade.  After  a  pleasant  reference  to  that  event,  Lee 
promptly  drew  attention  to  the  business  before  them, 
the  terms  of  surrender  were  arranged,  and  at  General 
Lee's  request  reduced  to  writing,  as  follows: 

APPOMATTOX  COURT  HOUSE,  VA.,  April  9,  1865. 

GENERAL  :  In  accordance  with  the  substance  of  my  letter  to 
you  of  the  8th  inst.,  I  propose  to  receive  the  surrender  of  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia  on  the  following  terms,  to  wit :  Rolls 
of  all  the  officers  and  men  to  be  made  in  duplicate,  one  copy  to 
be  given  to  an  officer  to  be  designated  by  me,  the  other  to  be  re 
tained  by  such  officer  or  officers  as  you  may  designate.  The 
officers  to  give  their  individual  paroles  not  to  take  up  arms  against 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  until  properly  exchanged ; 
and  each  company  and  regimental  commander  sign  a  like  parole 
for  the  men  of  their  commands.  The  arms,  artillery,  and  public 
property  to  be  parked  and  stacked,  and  turned  over  to  the  officers 
appointed  by  me  to  receive  them.  This  will  not  embrace  the  side- 
arms  of  the  officers  nor  the  private  horses  or  baggage.  This 
done,  each  officer  and  man  will  be  allowed  to  return  to  his  home, 
not  to  be  disturbed  by  United  States  authority  so  long  as  he 
observes  his  parole,  and  the  laws  in  force  where  he  may  reside. 
U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieutenant  General. 

General  R.  E.  LEE. 

"  Unless  you  have  some  suggestion  to  make,  I  will 

*  The  handle  of  this  sword  is  white,  with  a  lion's  head  at  the  top 
and  wrapped  with  gilt  wire  (not  studded  with  jewels,  as  has  been  pub 
lished),  with  gilt  guard,  the  scabbard  of  blue  steel  with  gilt  trimmings. 
Where  the  rings  are  attached,  on  one  side  of  the  blade,  are  the  words, 
"General  Robert  E.  Lee,  from  a  Marylander,  1863";  on  the  other, 
"  Aide  toi  et  Dieu  t'aidera."  This  sword  is  in  the  possession  of  Gen 
eral  G.  W.  C.  Lee,  son  of  General  Lee,  and  the  President  of  Washing 
ton  and  Lee  University  at  Lexington,  Va. 


EVACUATION   OF   RICHMOND.  395 

have  a  copy  of  the  letter  made  in  ink  and  sign  it,"  said 
Grant ;  and  it  gave  Lee  the  opportunity  to  tell  him  that 
the  cavalrymen  and  many  of  the  artillerymen  owned 
their  own  horses,  and  he  wished  to  know  whether  these 
men  would  be  permitted  to  retain  their  horses.  The 
terms  gave  to  the  officers  only  that  privilege,  and  so 
Grant  stated ;  but  seeing  that  Lee's  face  showed  plainly 
that  he  would  like  that  concession  made,  the  former 
said  feelingly  that  he  supposed  that  most  of  the  men  in 
ranks  were  small  farmers,  that  their  horses  would  be 
useful  in  putting  in  a  crop  to  carry  themselves  and  fami 
lies  through  the  next  winter,  and  that  he  would  give  in 
structions  "  to  let  all  men  who  claim  to  own  a  horse  or 
mule  take  the  animals  home  with  them  to  work  their 
little  farms."  The  Union  commander  was  in  touch  with 
his  President.  General  Weitzel,  who  had  entered  Rich 
mond  with  his  Twenty-fifth  Corps  and  received  its  for 
mal  capitulation,  asked  Mr.  Lincoln  what  he  "  should  do 
in  regard  to  the  conquered  people  ? "  The  latter  is  re 
ported  to  have  replied  that  he  did  not  wish  to  give  any 
orders  on  that  subject,  but  added,  "  If  I  were  in  your 
place  I'd  let  'em  up  easy,  I'd  let  'em  up  easy.''  It  was 
the  fear  of  his  men  losing  their  horses  in  case  of  sur 
render  that  made  the  Confederate  cavalry  commander 
ask  permission  at  the  council  the  night  before  to  extri 
cate  his  cavalry  in  case  of  surrender,  provided  it  was 
done  before  the  flag  of  truce  changed  the  status.  To 
Grant's  written  propositions  for  the  surrender  of  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  General  Lee  replied : 

HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OF  NORTHERN  VIRGINIA,  April  9,  1865. 

GENERAL  :  I  received  your  letter  of  this  date,  containing  the 
terms  of  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  as  pro 
posed  by  you.  As  they  are  substantially  the  same  as  those  ex 
pressed  in  your  letter  of  the  8th  instant,  they  are  accepted.  I 
will  proceed  to  designate  the  proper  officers  to  carry  the  stipula 
tion  into  effect.  R.  E.  LEE,  General. 

Lieutenant-General  U.  S.  GRANT. 

The  formalities  were  concluded  without  dramatic 
accessories,  and  then  Lee's  thoughts  turned  to  his  hun 
gry  veterans  and  to  his  prisoners.  "  I  have  a  thousand 
or  more  of  your  men  and  officers,  whom  we  have  re 
quired  to  march  along  with  us  for  several  days,"  said 


396  GENERAL   LEE. 

Lee  to  Grant.  "  I  shall  be  glad  to  send  them  to  your 
lines  as  soon  as  it  can  be  arranged,  for  I  have  no  pro 
visions  for  them.  My  own  men  have  been  living  for  the 
last  few  days  principally  upon  parched  corn,  and  we  are 
badly  in  need  of  both  rations  and  forage."  The  rations 
sent  from  Lynchburg  to  the  Southerners  were  captured. 
When  Grant  suggested  that  he  should  send  Lee  twenty- 
five  thousand  rations,  the  latter  told  him  it  would  be 
ample,  and  assured  him  it  would  be  a  great  relief.  The 
Confederate  commander  then  left,  and  rode  away  to 
break  the  sad  news  to  the  brave  troops  he  had  so  long 
commanded. 

His  presence  in  their  midst  was  an  exhibition  of  the 
devotion  of  soldier  to  commander.  The  troops  crowded 
around  him,  eagerly  desiring  to  shake  his  hand.  They 
had  seen  him  when  his  eye  calmly  surveyed  miles  of 
fierce,  raging  conflict ;  had  closely  observed  him  when, 
tranquil,  composed,  undisturbed,  he  had  heard  the  wild 
shout  of  victory  rend  the  air  ;  now  they  saw  their  be 
loved  chieftain  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  sympathy,  bound 
less  admiration,  and  love  for  him  filled  their  brave  hearts. 
They  pressed  up  to  him,  anxious  to  touch  his  person 
or  even  his  horse,  and  copious  tears  washed  from  strong 
men's  cheeks  the  stains  of  powder.  Slowly  and  painfully 
he  turned  to  his  soldiers,  and,  with  voice  quivering  with 
emotion,  said :  "  Men,  we  have  fought  through  the  war 
together  ;  I  have  done  my  best  for  you  ;  my  heart  is  too 
full  to  say  more."  It  was  a  simple  but  most  affecting 
scene.  On  the  next  day  a  formal  leave  of  his  army  was 
taken  by  General  Lee. 

HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OF  NORTHERN  VIRGINIA,  April  10,  1865. 
Alter  tour  years  of  arduous  service,  marked  by  unsurpassed 
courage  and  fortitude,  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  has  been 
compelled  to  yield  to  overwhelming  numbers  and  resources.  I 
need  not  tell  the  survivors  of  so  many  hard-fought  battles,  who 
have  remained  steadfast  to  the  last,  that  I  have  consented  to  this 
result  from  no  distrust  of  them  ;  but  feeling  that  valor  and  devo 
tion  could  accomplish  nothing  that  could  compensate  for  the  loss 
that  would  have  attended  the  continuation  of  the  contest,  I  have 
determined  to  avoid  the  useless  sacrifice  of  those  whose  past 
services  have  endeared  them  to  their  countrymen.  By  the  terms 
of  agreement,  officers  and  men  can  return  to  their  homes  and  re 
main  there  until  exchanged.  You  will  take  with  you  the  satis- 


EVACUATION   OF   RICHMOND.  397 

faction  that  proceeds  from  the  consciousness  of  duty  faithfully 
performed  ;  and  I  earnestly  pray  that  a  merciful  God  will  extend 
to  you  his  blessing  and  protection.  With  an  unceasing  admira 
tion  of  your  constancy  and  devotion  to  your  country,  and  a  grate 
ful  remembrance  of  your  kind  and  generous  consideration  of  my 
self,  I  bid  you  an  affectionate  farewell.  R.  E.  LEE,  General. 

And  then  in  silence,  with  lifted  hat,  he  rode  through 
a  weeping  army  to  his  home  in  Richmond.  He  was  not 
present  at  the  final  act  of  surrender ;  the  details  were  pre 
pared  by  three  officers  on  each  side,  and  were  as  follows : 

APFOMATTOX  COURT  HOUSE,  VA.,  April  10,  1865. 
Agreement  entered  into  this  day  in  regard  to  the  surrender 

of  the  Army  of  Northern    Virginia  to  the  United  States 

authorities : 

1.  The  troops  shall  march  by  brigades  and  detachments  to  a 
designated  point;  stack  their  arms,  deposit  their  flags,  sabers, 
pistols,  etc.,  and  thence  march  to  their  homes,  under  charge  of 
their  officers,  superintended  by  their  respective  division  and  corps 
commanders,  officers  retaining  their  side  arms  and  the  authorized 
number  of  private  horses. 

2.  All  public  horses,  and  public  property  of  all  kinds,  to  be 
turned  over  to  staff  officers  to  be  designated  by  the  United  States 
authorities. 

3.  Such  transportation  as  may  be  agreed  upon  as  necessary 
for  the  transportation  of  the  private  baggage  of  officers  will  be 
allowed  to  accompany  the  officers,  to  be  turned  over,  at  the  end 
of  the  trip,  to  the  nearest  United  States  quartermaster,  receipts 
being  taken  for  the  same. 

4.  Couriers  and  mounted  men  of  the  artillery  and  cavalry, 
whose  horses  are  their  own  private  property,  will  be  allowed  to 
retain  them. 

5.  The  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  shall  be 
construed  to  include  all  the  forces  operating  with  that  army  on 
the  8th  instant,  the  date  of  the  commencement  of  the  negotiations 
for  surrender,  except  such  bodies  of  cavalry  as  actually  made 
their  escape  previous  to  the  surrender,  and  except,  also,  such 
pieces  of  artillery  as  were  more  than  twenty  miles  from  Appomat- 
tox  Court  House  at  the  time  of  the  surrender  on  the  9th  instant. 

(Signed)  JOHN  GIBBON,  Major  General  Volunteers. 

CHARLES  GRIFFIN, 

Brevet  Major  General  U.  S.  Volunteers. 
W.  MERRITT,  Brevet  Major  General. 
J.  LONGSTREET,  Lieutenant  General. 
f.  B.  GORDON,  Major  General. 
r.  N.  PENDLETON, 
Brigadier  General  and  Chief  of  Artillery. 


398  GENERAL  LEE. 

General  Grant's  behavior  at  Appomattox  was  marked 
by  a  desire  to  spare  the  feelings  of  his  great  opponent. 
There  was  no  theatrical  display;  his  troops  were  not 
paraded  with  bands  playing  and  banners  flying,  before 
whose  lines  the  Confederates  must  march  and  stack 
arms.  He  did  not  demand  Lee's  sword,  as  is  customary, 
but  actually  apologized  to  him  for  not  having  his  own, 
saying  it  had  been  left  behind  in  the  wagon ;  promptly 
stopped  salutes  from  being  fired  to  mark  the  event,  and 
the  terms  granted  were  liberal  and  generous.  "  No  man 
could  have  behaved  better  than  General  Grant  did  under 
the  circumstances,"  said  Lee  to  a  friend  in  Richmond. 
"  He  did  not  touch  my  sword ;  the  usual  custom  is  for 
the  sword  to  be  received  when  tendered,  and  then 
handed  back,  but  he  did  not  touch  mine."  Neither  did 
the  Union  chief  enter  the  Southern  lines  to  show  him 
self  or  to  parade  his  victory,  or  go  to  Richmond  or 
Petersburg  to  exult  over  a  fallen  people,  but  mounted 
his  horse  and  with  his  staff  started  for  Washington. 
Washington,  at  Yorktown,  was  not  as  considerate  and 
thoughtful  of  the  feelings  of  Cornwallis  or  his  men. 

Charges  were  now  withdrawn  from  the  guns,  flags 
furled,  and  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  and  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia  turned  their  backs  upon  each  other 
for  the  first  time  in  four  long,  bloody  years.  The  South 
ern  soldiers,  wrapped  in  faded,  tattered  uniforms,  shoe 
less  and  weather-beaten,  but  proud  as  when  they  first 
rushed  to  battle,  returned  to  desolate  fields,  homes  in 
some  cases  in  ashes,  blight,  blast,  and  want  on  every 
side.  A  few  days  afterward  General  Lee  rode  into 
Richmond,  accompanied  by  his  staff,  and  the  cheering 
crowds  which  quickly  gathered  told  in  thunder  tones 
that  a  paroled  prisoner  of  war  *  was  still  loved  by  his 
people.  It  was  a  demonstration  in  which  men  forgot 
their  own  sorrow  and  gave  way  to  the  glory  and  grati- 

*  The  following  parole  was  signed  by  General  Lee  and  his  staff: 
We,  the  undersigned,  prisoners  of  war  belonging  to  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia,  having  been  this  day  surrendered  by  General  R. 
E.  Lee,  commanding  said  army,  to  Lieutenant-General  Grant,  com 
manding  the  armies  of  the  United  States,  do  hereby  give  our  solemn 
parole  of  honor  that  we  will  not  hereafter  serve  the  armies  of  the  Con 
federate  States,  or  in  any  military  capacity  whatever,  against  the  United 


EVACUATION   OF   RICHMOND.  399 

tude  of  the  past.  They  adored  him  most,  not  in  the 
glare  of  his  brilliant  victories,  but  in  the  hour  of  his 
deepest  humiliation. 

States  of  America,  or  render  aid  to  the  enemies  of  the  latter,  until 
properly  exchanged  in  such  manner  as  shall  be  mutually  approved  by 
the  relative  authorities : 

R.  E.  LEE,  General. 
W  H.  TAYLOR, 

Lieutenant  Colonel  and  Acting  Adjutant  General. 
CHARLES  S.  VENABLE, 

Lieutenant  Colonel  and  Acting  Adjutant  General. 
CHARLES  MARSHALL, 

Lieutenant  Colonel  and  Acting  Adjutant  General. 
H.  E.  PEYTON,  Lieutenant  Colonel  and  Inspector  General. 
GILES  B.  COOKE,  Major  and  Assistant  Inspector  General. 
H.  S.  YOUNG,  Acting  Adjutant  General. 
Done  at  Appomattox  Court  House,  Va., 

the  ninth  (gth)  day  of  April,  1865. 
The  parole  was  countersigned  as  follows  : 

The  above-named  officers  will  not  be  disturbed  by  United  States 
authorities  as  long  as  they  observe  their  parole  and  the  laws  in  force 
where  they  may  reside.  GEORGE  H.  SHARPE, 

Central  and  Assistant  Provost  Marshal. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

RETURN    TO    RICHMOND. PRESIDENT    OF    WASHINGTON 

COLLEGE. — DEATH    AND    BURIAL. 

PERSONALLY  it  was  a  great  relief  to  General  Lee  to 
be  transferred  to  domestic  life  and  the  company  of  his 
wife  and  children.  For  forty  years,  including  his  cadet- 
ship,  he  had  been  a  soldier  whose  movements  and  duties 
were  directed  by  others ;  now  he  was  independent  of  all 
war  departments  and  military  orders.  He  was  a  private 
citizen  for  the  first  time  during  his  manhood,  and  would 
not  be  disturbed  as  long  as  he  observed  his  parole  and 
the  laws  in  force  wherever  he  might  reside.  He  had 
denounced  the  assassination  of  Mr.  Lincoln  as  a  crime 
previously  unknown  to  the  country,  and  one  that  must 
be  deprecated  by  every  American ;  and  when  President 
Johnson  proclaimed  his  policy  of  May  29th,  in  the  resto 
ration  of  peace,  he  applied  on  June  i3th  to  be  embraced 
within  its  provisions,  and  tendered  his  allegiance  to 
the  only  government  in  existence,  under  whose  flag  he 
must  resume  the  duties  of  citizenship.  He  cited  to  his 
friends  the  example  of  Washington,  who  fought  against 
the  French  in  the  service  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain, 
and  then  with  the  French  against  the  English,  under  the 
orders  of  the  Continental  Congress.  "  If  you  intend  to 
reside  in  this  country,"  he  wrote  a  friend  in  New  Orleans, 
"and  wish  to  do  your  part  in  the  restoration  of  your 
State  and  in  the  Government  of  the  country,  which  I 
think  is  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to  do,  I  know  of  no 
objection  to  your  taking  the  amnesty  oath."  In  the 
same  month  he  was  indicted  by  the  United  States  grand 
jury,  with  Mr.  Davis  and  others,  for  treason.  With  a 
clear  conscience,  he  made  up  his  mind,  he  said,  "  to  let 

(4oo) 


RETURN   TO   RICHMOND. 


401 


the  authorities  take  their  course.  I  have  no  wish  to 
avoid  any  trial  the  Government  may  order ;  I  hope 
others  may  be  unmolested." 

Reverdy  Johnson,  the  distinguished  Maryland  law 
yer,  who  did  not  agree  with  General  Lee's  political  views, 
hearing  that  he  was  to  be  prosecuted  in  court  for  the 
alleged  crime  of  treason,  placed  the  fifty  years  of  his 
great  study  and  profound  experience  at  his  command, 
because,  as  he  states,  "  in  saving  him  I  would  be  saving 
the  honor  of  my  country."  General  Lee  wrote  General 
Grant  to  withdraw  his  application  for  amnesty  under  the 
President's  proclamation,  if  steps  were  to  be  taken  for 
his  prosecution,  as  he  was  willing  to  stand  the  test. 
Grant  saw  the  President,  and  protested  against  a  pro 
cedure  against  General  Lee,  informing  him  that  he  con 
sidered  his  honor  and  the  honor  of  the  nation  pledged 
to  him,  and  no  proceedings  were  taken. 

General  Lee's  enjoyment  of  the  society  of  his  family 
and  friends  in  Richmond  was  much  broken  into  by  vis 
itors  from  all  sections  of  the  country.  Many  persons 
were  attracted  to  the  city  because  it  had  been  the 
Southern  capital,  whose  lines  had  for  so  long  kept 
great  hosts  from  entering  her  gates,  and  a  visit  to  or  a 
sight  of  General  Lee  was  always  on  their  programme. 
Numbers  of  people  stood  on  the  street  and  gazed  at 
the  house,  hoping  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  its  occupant. 
Not  desiring  to  make  a-public  exhibition  of  himself,  the 
paroled  soldier  was  a  prisoner  in  his  own  house;  and 
his  condition  produced  the  desire  to  move  to  more 
secluded  quarters.  Mrs.  Lee's  health,  too,  would  be 
benefited  by  going  out  of  town  during  the  coming  sum 
mer  months.  The  house  he  lived  in  belonged  to  Mr. 
John  Stewart,  of  Brook  Hill,  a  fine  specimen  of  the  kind- 
hearted,  benevolent  Scotch  gentleman.  He  had  rented 
it  to  General  Lee's  son,  General  G.  W.  C.  Lee,  some  time 
before  the  war  closed. 

The  general  felt  that  he  should  make  post-war  terms 
with  his  excellent  landlord ;  but,  before  he  could  take 
any  steps,  Mrs.  Lee  received  a  note  from  Mr.  Stewart 
which  read :  "  I  am  not  presuming  on  your  good  opin 
ion  when  I  feel  that  you  will  believe  me — first,  that  you 
and  yours  are  heartily  welcome  to  the  house  as  long  as 


402  GENERAL   LEE. 

your  convenience  leads  you  to  stay  in  Richmond;  and, 
next,  that  you  owe  me  nothing,  but,  if  you  insist  on  pay, 
that  the  payment  must  be  in  Confederate  currency,  for 
which  alone  it  was  rented  to  your  son.  You  do  not 
know  how  much  gratification  it  is,  and  it  will  afford  me 
and  my  whole  family,  during  the  remainder  of  our  lives, 
to  reflect  that  we  have  been  brought  into  contact  and  to 
know  and  to  appreciate  you  and  all  that  are  dear  to  you." 

In  looking  beyond  Richmond  for  quarters,  General 
Lee  was  much  in  favor  of  purchasing  a  farm  in  Orange 
County,  in  the  beautiful  section  near  the  railroad  cross 
ing  of  the  Rapidan,  with  which  he  was  so  familiar ; 
but  about  that  time  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Randolph  Cocke,  of 
Cumberland  County,  Virginia,  granddaughter  of  Edmund 
Randolph,  offered  him  the  use  of  a  dwelling  house  situ 
ated  on  a  portion  of  her  estate  in  Powhatan  County. 
As  it  was  known  that  he  had  been  dispossessed  of  his  old 
home  at  Arlington,  numerous  offers  of  money,  houses, 
and  lands  almost  daily  reached  him,  as  well  as  requests 
to  become  the  president  of  business  associations  and 
chartered  corporations.  Mrs.  Cocke's  kind,  cordial  man 
ner,  for  which  she  was  proverbial,  and  the  retired  situ 
ation  of  the  dwelling  offered,  induced  him  to  put  all 
others  aside  and  accept  her  hospitable  and  thoughtful 
invitation.  The  spring  and  early  summer  of  1865  were 
spent  by  the  great  soldier  in  the  full  fruition  of  a  well- 
earned  and  long-needed  repose. 

In  the  meantime  the  trustees  of  Washington  College, 
at  Lexington,  Va.,  determined  to  reorganize  the  institu 
tion,  pledging  their  personal  credit  to  provide  means  to 
repair  the  ravages  of  war.  A  member  of  the  board  had 
accidentally  heard  that  a  daughter  of  General  Lee  had 
said  she  thought  her  father  would  like  to  be  connected 
with  an  institution  of  learning,  and  this  casual  remark 
first  directed  the  attention  of  the  trustees  to  General 
Lee  in  connection  with  the  presidency  of  their  college ; 
but,  as  one  of  them  said,  it  was  unmingled  impudence  to 
tender  to  General  Lee  the  head  of  an  institution  which 
had  nothing  then,  and  must  start  at  the  bottom  round 
of  the  collegiate  educational  ladder.  The  temerarious 
trustees  were  equal  to  the  emergency,  and  boldly  grap 
pled  with  the  subject,  doubtless  encouraged  and  inspired 


RETURN   TO   RICHMOND.  403 

by  the  strong  advice  of  ex-Governor  John  Letcher, 
who  suggested  that  if  the  college  had  nothing  then,  its 
condition  would  instantaneously  change  at  the  moment 
General  Lee  accepted  the  presidency.  The  name  of 
Robert  E.  Lee  was  duly  proposed  for  the  office,  and  the 
letter  informing  him  of  his  unanimous  election,  signed 
by  the  rector,  Judge  John  W.  Brockenbrough,  and  the 
committee,  was  consigned  to  the  rector,  to  be  delivered 
in  person  rather  than  by  mail,  because  its  contents  could 
be  strengthened  by  the  well-known  persuasive  powers 
of  the  learned  judge.  At  this  point  the  trustees  were 
confronted  with  a  fresh  and  apparently  insurmountable 
obstruction.  Neither  the  rector  nor  any  one  of  them, 
owing  to  the  disasters  of  cruel  war,  had  raiment  of  suf 
ficient  texture,  shape,  and  freshness  to  wear  in  making 
a  trip  from  home,  more  especially  when  it  comprised  a 
personal  interview  with  the  great  soldier  upon  which 
so  much  depended.  After  laborious  search,  the  best- 
dressed  citizen  of  that  section  since  the  war  was  found, 
whose  clothes  fortunately  came  near  enough  to  fitting 
the  rector  to  encourage  him  to  make  his  appearance  in 
them  as  ambassador  to  the  county  of  Powhatan,  where 
the  general  was  then  residing.  The  sigh  of  relief  that 
this  obstacle  had  been  so  successfully  overcome  was 
scarcely  audible  before  the  trustees  encountered  still 
greater  trials.  Neither  the  rector  nor  any  one  else  had 
any  finances,  or  possibly  even  financial  standing.  Money 
was  as  absolutely  necessary,  when  rectors  traveled  so 
soon  after  the  war,  as  it  is  now,  and  Confederate  money 
for  some  time  before  the  surrender  had  not  been  worth 
ten  cents  per  yard.  Finally,  however,  by  the  supreme 
exertion  of  one  of  the  trustees,  fifty  dollars  of  "good 
money  "  was  secured,  and  the  representative  of  Wash 
ington  College  was  safely  started.  The  public  and  pri 
vate  monetary  stringency  was  not  confined  at  that 
period  to  Lexington. 

In  the  letter  dated  August  5,  1865,  carried  by  Judge 
Brockenbrough,  General  Lee  was  told  that  Washington 
College,  though  a  great  sufferer  from  havoc  and  devasta 
tion,  "  is  still  blessed  with  a  vigorous  vitality,  and  needs 
only  the  aid  of  your  illustrious  character  and  transcend 
ent  scientific  attainments  to  reanimate  her  drooping  for- 


404 


GENERAL   LEE. 


tunes  and  restore  her  to  more  than  her  pristine  useful 
ness  and  prosperity."  General  Lee  had  already  declined 
the  presidency  of  the  Suwanee  University  of  Tennessee, 
and  shrank  from  any  connection  with  the  University 
of  Virginia,  on  the  ground  that  one  was  a  denomina 
tional  and  the  other  a  State  university.  He  considered 
this  matter  nineteen  days,  and  then  wrote  that  he  feared 
he  would  be  unable  to  "  discharge  the  duties  to  the  sat 
isfaction  of  the  trustees  or  to  the  benefit  of  the  coun 
try."  Then,  too,  he  was  excluded  from  the  terms  of  am 
nesty  in  the  proclamation  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  he  said,  and  "an  object  of  censure  to  a  portion 
of  the  country,"  and  he  was  afraid  he  might  draw  upon 
the  college  a  feeling  of  hostility,  and  therefore  cause 
injury  to  an  institution  which  it  would  be  his  highest 
desire  to  advance,  and  concluded  by  saying,  "  I  think  it 
is  the  duty  of  every  citizen,  in  the  present  condition  of 
the  country,  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  aid  in  the  restora 
tion  of  peace  and  harmony,  and  in  no  way  to  oppose 
the  policy  of  the  State  or  General  Government  directed 
to  that  object";  and  that,  after  what  had  been  written, 
if  the  board  should  still  think  his  services  would  be  ad 
vantageous  to  the  college  and  country,  he  would  yield 
to  their  judgment  and  accept. 

The  trustees  on  August  3ist  adopted  and  transmitted 
to  General  Lee  resolutions  that,  in  spite  of  his  objections, 
in  their  opinion,  "his  connection  with  the  institution 
will  greatly  promote  its  prosperity  and  advance  the  gen 
eral  interest  of  education,"  and  solicited  him  to  enter 
upon  the  duties  of  the  presidency  of  the  college  at  his 
earliest  convenience.  The  "  happy  audacity,"  as  one  of 
the  professors  of  the  Virginia  Military  Institute  termed 
it,  of  the  trustees  gave  to  them  the  victory.  That  Gen 
eral  Lee  should  put  aside  the  many  large  and  lucrative 
offers  and  accept  this  position  at  the  salary  then  offered 
— fifteen  hundred  dollars  per  annum — was  but  in  keeping 
with  his  great  character.  Washington  College  had  de 
scended  from  a  classical  school  taught  in  the  Valley  of 
Virginia  as  early  as  the  year  1749,  known  as  the  Augusta 
Academy.  On  May  13,  1776,  nearly  two  months  before 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  in  response  to  the  pa 
triotic  sentiment  of  the  times,  the  name  was  changed  to 


PRESIDENT   OF  WASHINGTON   COLLEGE.       405 

"  Liberty  Hall  Academy."  The  institution  was  removed 
successively  to  different  places,  and  was  finally  estab 
lished  in  Lexington,  Va.,  a  town  founded  in  1778  as  the 
county  seat  of  Rockbridge  County  and  called  after  Lex 
ington,  Mass.,  where  the  "  embattled  farmers  stood  and 
fired  the  shot  heard  round  the  world." 

In  1784  Virginia,  desiring  to  testify  her  appreciation 
of  the  services  and  character  of  her  great  son  Washing 
ton,  directed  the  Treasurer  of  the  State  to  subscribe  to 
one  hundred  shares  of  the  par  value  of  two  hundred 
dollars  in  the  stock  of  a  company  organized  for  the 
improvement  of  the  navigation  of  James  River,  and 
vested  the  same  in  General  Washington.  The  Legis 
lature  agreed  to  the  condition  upon  which  alone  he 
would  receive  the  gift — viz.,  that  he  would  be  permit 
ted  to  present  it  to  objects  of  a  public  nature,  such  as 
"  the  education  of  the  poor,  particularly  the  children  of 
such  as  have  fallen  in  the  defense  of  the  country."  He 
gave  this  stock  in  1796  to  "Liberty  Hall  Academy"  in 
Rockbridge  County,  first  presided  over  by  William  Gra 
ham,  an  old  Princeton  classmate  and  friend  of  General 
Lee's  father.  "  Liberty  Hall  "  was  now  Washington  Col 
lege,  that  name  having  been  adopted  in  1812. 

Perhaps  past  associations  had  something  to  do  with 
General  Lee's  accepting  the  presidency  of  the  college,  as 
well  as  a  desire  to  contribute  his  part  toward  laying  the 
only  true  foundation  upon  which  a  republic  can  rest — 
the  Christian  education  of  its  youth.  His  object  now, 
as  in  1 86 1,  was  to  render  the  best  service  he  could  to  his 
native  State,  and  to  that  purpose  he  had  never  been 
unfaithful.  By  the  intelligent  and  judicious  manage 
ment  of  sums  donated,  principally  by  the  patriots  of  the 
Revolution,  the  endowment  fund,  in  1861,  had  nearly 
reached  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  the  college 
had  secured  ample  buildings,  apparatus,  and  libraries, 
while  its  alumni  had  already  richly  adorned  pulpit,  bench, 
bar,  medical  profession,  halls  of  legislation,  seats  of 
learning,  and  all  the  walks  of  life.  It  might  have  es 
caped  war's  devastation  had  any  other  Federal  officer 
than  General  David  Hunter  marched  upon  its  campus. 
This  officer  had  no  respect  for  colleges,  or  the  peace 
ful  pursuits  of  professors  and  students,  or  the  private 
27 


406  GENERAL   LEE. 

dwellings  of  citizens,  though  occupied  by  women  and 
children  only,  and  during  his  three  days'  occupancy  of 
Lexington  in  June,  1864,  the  college  buildings  were  dis 
mantled,  apparatus  destroyed,  and  the  books  mutilated. 

At  the  end  of  the  fiscal  year  1865  there  was  a  balance 
in  the  hands  of  the  college  treasurer  of  two  thousand 
four  hundred  and  fifty-eight  dollars  and  twenty  cents  in 
Confederate  money.  The  assets  of  the  college  were  not 
available,  nor  could  the  interest  upon  its  bonds  or  State 
securities  be  collected.  There  was  a  balance  due  pro 
fessors  and  others  of  nearly  two  thousand  dollars,  and 
the  Finance  Committee  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  rec 
ommended  that  the  college  borrow  at  once,  to  meet 
pressing  demands,  four  thousand  six  hundred  dollars. 
The  trustees  proved  equal  to  the  encounter  with  these 
discouraging  difficulties,  and  with  "  happy  audacity " 
promptly  sent  their  rector  to  offer  General  Lee  the 
presidency  at  a  salary  at  that  time  not  in  sight  of  the 
college's  treasury  !  General  Lee's  favorite  war  horse, 
Traveler,  the  famous  gray  which  had  borne  him  so  faith 
fully  amid  the  flying  bolts  of  battle,  now  carried  him  to 
peaceful  pursuits.  Unheralded  and  unattended,  having 
ridden  from  Powhatan  County  in  four  days,  his  simple 
tntrte  was  made  into  the  little  mountain  town  of  Lexing 
ton.  As  he  drew  rein  in  front  of  the  village  hotel,  an 
old  soldier  recognized  him,  gave  the  military  salute, 
placed  one  hand  upon  the  bridle,  the  other  upon  the 
stirrup,  and  stood,  waiting  for  him  to  dismount. 

The  general's  wish  for  a  quiet,  informal  inaugu 
ration  was  gratified,  and  on  October  2,  1865,  in  the 
presence  of  the  faculty,  students,  and  board  of  trus 
tees,  subscribed  before  William  White,  Esq.,  justice 
of  the  peace,  the  oath*  prescribed  by  law.  During  the 
ceremony  the  general,  dressed  in  a  plain  but  elegant 
suit  of  gray,  remained  standing,  his  arms  folded,  calmly 
and  steadfastly  looking  into  the  eyes  of  the  speaker, 
Judge  Brockenbrough.  The  warrior  had  been  trans 
formed  into  a  college  president,  who  was  to  discharge 

*  I  do  swear  that  I  will,  to  the  best  of  my  skill  and  judgment,  faith 
fully  and  truly  discharge  the  duties  required  of  me  by  an  act  for  incor 
porating  the  Rector  and  Trustees  of  Liberty  Hall  Academy,  without 
favor,  affection,  or  partiality. 


PRESIDENT   OF  WASHINGTON   COLLEGE.       407 

his  duties  there  as  conscientiously  as  when  his  simple 
mandate  sent  thousands  of  men  into  fierce  battle.  "  I 
have,"  said  he,  "  a  self-imposed  task,  which  I  can  not 
forsake."  The  college  to  which  he  was  called  was 
broken  in  fortune  ;  "  the  war  had  practically  closed  its 
doors ;  its  buildings  had  been  pillaged  and  defaced  and 
its  library  scattered."  He  had  the  profoundest  convic 
tions  of  the  importance  of  educational  influence  and  the 
deepest  sense  of  personal  responsibility.  Year  by  year 
the  conception  of  his  duty  grew  stronger,  and  year  by 
year,  as  its  instrument,  the  college  grew  dearer.  He 
was  no  figurehead,  kept  in  position  for  the  attraction  of 
his  name ;  his  energy,  zeal,  and  administrative  ability 
surmounted  all  difficulties.  His  great  labors  were  di 
rected  to  making  Washington  College  the  seat  of  sci 
ence,  art,  and  literature.  Far-reaching  plans  laid  for 
its  success  were  wisely  conceived. 

A  scholastic  monument  was  slowly  responding  to  his 
noble  influence  and  wise  administration,  which  would 
be  as  illustrious  as  his  most  brilliant  military  achieve 
ments.  He  mastered  all  details,  observing  the  students, 
becoming  persoially  acquainted  with  them,  their  aspira 
tions  and  hopes ;  his  interest  followed  them  every 
where,  and  their  associations,  dispositions,  and  habits 
were  well  known  to  him.  He  never  grew  imperious, 
or  tried  to  force  a  measure  upon  the  faculty,  but  mod 
estly  said  he  had  but  one  vote  and  wished  to  know  the 
opinion  of  his  colleagues,  and  leave  the  decision  to  be 
determined  by  the  whole  body.  Sustained  by  the  loftiest 
principles  of  virtue  and  religion,  an  exalted  character, 
and  a  conscientious  sense  of  duty,  General  Lee  suffered 
no  complaint  to  escape  his  lips  during  the  eventful  years 
from  1865  to  1870,  though  troubled  by  much  that  was 
taking  place. 

He  manifested  much  interest  in  the  case  of  Captain 
Wirtz,  on  trial  for  his  life,  accused  of  cruelty  to  the  Fed 
eral  prisoners  of  war  committed  to  him.  He  knew  the 
captain  had  done  all  that  was  possible  with  the  resources 
at  his  disposal ;  subsistence  for  them  had  been  most  diffi 
cult  to  procure,  their  exchange  for  an  equal  number  of 
Southerners  had  been  refused,  while  the  Federal  blockade 
kept  out  medical  supplies.  A  portion  of  the  Northern 
27 


408  GENERAL   LEE 

press  charged  Lee  with  being  responsible  for  the  alleged 
suffering  of  the  Union  prisoners.  He  declined  to  make 
a  public  reply  unless  the  accusation  came  from  a  re 
sponsible  source,  but  said  that  he  was  in  no  way  respon 
sible  for  the  condition  of  prisoners  after  they  had  been 
sent  from  his  army.  When  the  commissary  general  said 
to  him,  upon  one  occasion,  that  it  would  be  necessary  to 
reduce  either  the  rations  of  the  Federal  prisoners  or 
those  of  his  men  in  the  field,  he  replied,  "While  I  have 
no  authority  in  the  case,  my  desire  is  that  the  prisoners 
shall  have  equal  rations  with  my  men."  He  was  sum 
moned  to  Washington  in  March,  1866,  as  a  witness  before 
a  congressional  committee  which  was  inquiring  into  the 
condition  of  things  in  the  South.  His  testimony  was 
simple,  direct,  dignified,  and  elicited  the  admiration  of 
all  who  heard  or  read  it.  It  was  his  first  appearance  in 
any  of  the  cities  since  the  war,  and,  being  at  a  time  of 
public  political  excitement,  his  visit  was  an  occasion  of 
absorbing  interest.  The  day  after  his  return  he  pro 
posed  a  walk  with  one  of  his  daughters,  who  playfully 
objected  to  a  new  hat  he  was  about  to  put  on.  "  You 
do  not  like  my  hat?"  said  he;  "why,  there  were  a  thou 
sand  people  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue  in  Washington  the 
other  day  admiring  this  hat !  "  It  was  his  only  refer 
ence  to  the  crowds  of  persons  who  gathered  around  him 
wherever  he  went  in  the  city. 

General  Lee  was  still  receiving  numerous  letters, 
filled  with  offers  of  remunerative  positions,  to  which 
he  always  replied  that  he  preferred  to  continue  the 
educational  work  he  had  undertaken ;  but  still  they 
came,  coupled  often  with  the  condition  that  he  should 
not  relinquish  his  self-imposed  task,  and  should  not  re 
sign  the  college  presidency.  On  one  occasion  the  gen 
eral  said  to  a  particular  friend  in  his  office  :  "  My  friend 
Mr. has  been  to  see  me,  and  offers  me  twenty  thou 
sand  dollars  per  annum  to  take  the  presidency  of  

Company.  I  would  like  to  make  some  money  for  Mrs. 
Lee,  as  she  has  not  much  left,  and  he  does  not  require 
me  to  leave  the  college  ;  what  do  you  think  of  my  ac 
cepting  it  ? "  The  irony  of  the  question  was  appreci 
ated,  but  his  friend  took  him  at  his  word,  and  expressed 
his  opinion  adversely,  saying,  as  modestly  as  possible, 


PRESIDENT   OF   WASHINGTON   COLLEGE. 


409 


that  if  he  "  allowed  himself  to  be  influenced  by  filthy 
lucre  he  would  begin  to  gravitate."  With  the  winsome 
way  so  characteristic  of  him  the  general  replied:  "I 

am  glad  to  find  that  you  agree  with  me.     I  told  Mr. 

yesterday  that  I  must  decline  his  offer." 

About  this  time  the  subject  of  the  removal  of  the 
remains  of  the  Southern  dead  from  the  field  of  Gettys 
burg  was  being  considered.  General  Lee  replied  to  a 
letter  calling  his  attention  to  it : 

LEXINGTON,  VA.,  December  15,  1868. 

MY  DEAR  FITZ  :  I  have  considered  the  subject  of  your  letter, 
which  has  been  unaccountably  delayed  on  the  journey ;  and 
though  I  have  no  desire  that  my  views  should  govern  in  the  de 
cision  of  a  question  in  which  others  are  equally  interested,  I  will 
give  them  for  your  consideration.  In  the  first  place,  I  have  no 
fears  that  our  dead  will  receive  disrespectful  treatment  at  the 
hands  of  the  Gettysburg  association.  If  they  do  so,  it  will  then 
be  time,  as  it  will  also  furnish  the  occasion,  for  us  to  apply  for 
their  transfer  to  our  care.  I  am  not  in  favor  of  disturbing  the 
ashes  of  the  dead  unless  for  a  worthy  object,  and  I  know  of  no 
fitter  resting-place  for  a  soldier  than  the  field  on  which  he  has 
nobly  laid  down  his  life.  If  our  State  governments  could  reflect 
the  wishes  of  their  citizens,  and  each  State  could  receive  its  own 
dead,  I  think  it  would  be  very  appropriate  to  return  them  to  their 
native  soil  for  final  interment,  if  possible  ;  and  I  know  it  would  be 
soothing  to  the  feelings  of  their  friends  to  have  their  sacred  dead 
committed  to  their  affectionate  keeping. 

The  General  was  only  induced  to  take  the  presidency 
of  the  Valley  Railroad  because  it  did  not  require  him  to 
leave  Lexington,  and  because  he  was  so  interested  in 
obtaining  railroad  facilities  for  his  college.  He  really 
loved  his  work,  in  which  his  interest  increased  rather 
than  diminished.  Occasionally  he  would  administer 
admonition  to  the  students  or  make  public  his  direc 
tions  by  circulars,  which  were  called  by  them  "  General 
Orders  "  ;  for  example  : 

WASHINGTON  COLLEGE,  VA.,  December  24,  1869. 
Academic  exercises  will  be  suspended  from  the  25th  to  the 
27th  inclusive,  to  enable  the  students  to  join  in  the  rites  and  serv 
ices  appropriate  to  the  occasion  ;  and  while  enjoying  these  privi 
leges  with  grateful  hearts,  all  are  urged  to  do  or  countenance 
nothing  which  may  disturb  the  peace,  harmony,  and  happiness 
that  should  pervade  a  Christian  community. 

R.  E.  LEE,  President. 


GENERAL   LEE. 

The  labors,  exposure,  and  responsibilities  of  his  cam 
paigns  laid  the  foundation  for  bodily  distress.  Rheuma 
tism  of  the  heart  sac  and  of  other  portions  of  his  body 
was  creeping  by  gradual  approach  to  assault  the  vitals. 
He  was  reluctantly  persuaded  to  go  south  in  March, 
1870,  to  look  upon  other  scenes  and  enjoy  the  fragrant 
breezes  in  the  "  land  of  sun  and  flowers."  In  Richmond, 
en  route,  in  response  to  an  invitation  tendering  the  privi 
leges  of  the  legislative  floor,  he  wrote  : 

RICHMOND,  VA.,  March  26,  1870. 
Hon.  J.  S.  MARYE,  President  of  the  Senate  of  Virginia. 

SIR:  It  would  afford  me  great  pleasure  to  be  able  to  avail 
myself  of  the  privileges  of  the  floor  of  the  Senate  extended  to  me 
by  the  resolution  of  that  body  to-day,  but  the  condition  of  my 
health  is  such  as  to  require  me  to  reach  a  milder  climate  as  soon 
as  practicable.  With  a  due  sense  ot  the  honor  conferred  on  me 
by  the  resolution  of  the  Senate, 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  most  obedient  servant, 

R.  E.  LEE. 

His  sweet  daughter  Agnes,  who  did  not  long  survive 
her  father,  accompanied  him.  On  the  trip  he  embraced 
the  opportunity  to  see  once  more  his  father's  grave,  on 
an  island  off  the  coast  of  Georgia.  General  Henry  Lee 
(or  "  Light-Horse  Harry  "),  in  returning  from  the  West 
Indies,  where  he  had  been,  hoping  to  restore  his  health, 
was,  it  may  be  remembered,  taken  ill,  and  begged  to  be 
put  ashore  at  General  Greene's  mansion,  then  occupied 
by  his  daughter,  where  he  died,  and  where  his  remains 
now  lie.  From  Savannah,  Ga.,  April  18,  1870,  the  gen 
eral  wrote  Mrs.  Lee :  "  We  visited  Cumberland  Island, 
and  Agnes  decorated  my  father's  grave  with  beautiful 
fresh  flowers.  I  presume  it  is  the  last  time  I  shall  be 
able  to  pay  it  my  tribute  of  respect.  The  cemetery  is 
unharmed  and  the  graves  are  in  good  order,  though  the 
house  of  '  Dungeness '  has  been  burned  and  the  island 
devastated.  I  hope  I  am  better.  I  know  that  I  am 
stronger,  but  I  still  have  the  pain  in  my  chest  whenever 
I  walk.  I  have  felt  it,  too,  occasionally  recently,  when 
quiescent." 

He  returned  benefited  by  the  trip,  but  the  steady 
progress  of  his  disease  had  not  been  checked.  While 
absent,  the  college  trustees  appropriated  money  to  pre- 


PRESIDENT   OF  WASHINGTON  COLLEGE. 

sent  him  with  a  house  and  settle  an  annuity  of  three 
thousand  dollars  per  annum  on  his  family,  all  of  which 
he  firmly  declined.  "I  am  unwilling  that  my  family 
should  become  a  tax  to  the  college,"  he  wrote  to  the 
board,  "  but  desire  that  all  its  funds  should  be  devoted 
to  the  purposes  of  education.  I  feel  assured  that,  in  case 
a  competency  should  not  be  left  to  my  wife,  her  children 
would  never  suffer  her  to  want." 

When  the  fall  session  of  1870  of  the  college  opened, 
General  Lee  was  at  his  post  of  duty,  but  "  his  step  had 
lost  something  of  its  elasticity,  the  shoulders  began  to 
stoop  as  if  under  a  growing  burden,  and  the  ruddy  glow 
of  health  upon  his  countenance  changed  to  a  feverish 
flush."  A  noble  life  was  drawing  to  a  close.  The 
morning  of  September  28,  1870,  found  him  faithfully 
performing  the  duties  of  his  office;  the  afternoon,  en 
gaged  with  his  brother  members  of  the  vestry  of  Grace 
Episcopal  Church  in  work  congenial  to  the  true  Christian, 
and  the  autumn  evening  shadows  fell  upon  a  couch  over 
which  the  heavenly  angels  were  bending.  The  impor 
tant  question  of  rebuilding  the  church  and  increasing  his 
faithful  friend  and  pastor's  compensation  had  interested 
him  so  deeply  at  the  vestry  meeting,  that  the  cold  church 
and  the  outside  storm  were  forgotten,  and  it  was  only 
after  a  protracted  session  of  over  three  hours,  as  he  pro 
ceeded  to  his  house,  a  short  distance  off,  that  weariness 
and  weakness  overtook  him,  and  his  wavering  steps  indi 
cated  increasing  feebleness.  Entering  his  private  office 
as  usual,  he  took  off  his  hat,  military  cloak,  and  over 
shoes,  and  then  proceeded  to  join  his  family,  who  had 
been  waiting  tea  for  him.  Quietly  he  stood  in  his  ac 
customed  place  in  the  dining-room,  while  his  family  with 
bowed  heads  waited  to  hear  the  well-known  grace,  but 
no  sound  came  from  his  lips.  Speechless  the  great  sol 
dier  stood ;  an  expression  of  despair  spread  over  his  face  ; 
and  from  his  eyes  came  a  dreamy,  far-away  look  which 
denoted  the  approaching  summons  from  his  Creator. 

"  My  husband  came  in,"  wrote  Mrs.  Lee,  "  and  I 
asked  where  he  had  been,  remarking  that  he  had  kept  us 
waiting  a  long  time.  He  did  not  reply,  but  stood  up  as 
if  to  say  grace.  No  word  proceeded  from  his  lips,  but 
with  a  sublime  look  of  resignation  he  sat  down  in  his 


412 


GENERAL   LEE. 


chair."  With  intense  anxiety  the  family  went  to  his  as 
sistance.  A  bed  was  brought  to  the  dining-room,  in 
which  he  was  placed,  and  Dr.  B.  L.  Madison  and  Dr. 
H.  T.  Barton  were  quickly  summoned.  For  two  weeks, 

'Twixt  night  and  morn  upon  the  horizon's  verge, 
Between  two  worlds  life  hovered  like  a  star. 

Mrs.  Lee  tells  us  that  his  whole  demeanor  during  his 
sickness  was  that  of  one  who  had  taken  leave  of  earth. 
He  never  smiled  and  rarely  attempted  to  speak  except 
in  his  dreams,  and  then,  she  says,  "  he  wandered  to  those 
dreadful  battlefields."  "You  must  get  out  and  ride 
your  faithful  gray,"  the  doctor  said.  He  shook  his  head 
and  looked  upward;  and  once  when  his  daughter  Agnes 
urged  him  to  take  medicine,  he  looked  at  her  and  said, 
"It  is  no  use."  Human  love  was  powerful,  human  aid 
powerless.  Hope  and  Despair  were  twin  watchers  by 
his  bedside.  At  first,  as  his  disease  seemed  to  yield  to 
treatment,  Hope  brightened,  but  soon  Despair  alone  kept 
watch.  During  the  afternoon  and  night  of  October  loth 
shadowy  clouds  of  approaching  dissolution  began  to 
gather,  a  creeping  lethargy  captured  the  faculties,  and 
the  massive  grandeur  of  form  and  face  began  to  con 
tract.  During  the  succeeding  day  he  rapidly  grew 
worse ;  his  thoughts  wandered  to  the  fields  where  he 
had  so  often  led  his  gray  battalions  to  victory  ;  and  like 
the  greatest  of  his  captains,  Stonewall  Jackson,  whose 
expiring  utterance  told  "  A.  P.  Hill  to  prepare  for 
action,"  he  too,  in  death's  delirium,  said,  "  Tell  Hill  he 
must  come  up  !  "  "  For  the  last  forty-eight  hours  he 
seemed  quite  insensible  of  our  presence,"  Mrs.  Lee 
states  ;  "  he  breathed  more  heavily,  and  at  last  gently 
sank  to  rest  with  one  deep-drawn  sigh,  and  oh,  what  a 
glorious  rest  was  in  store  for  him !  " 

Robert  Edward  Lee  died  at  half-past  nine,  on  the 
morning  of  October  12,  1870,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of 
his  age.  His  physicians  stated  as  the  cause,  "  mental 
and  physical  fatigue  inducing  venous  congestion  of  the 
brain,  which,  however,  never  proceeded  as  apoplexy  or 
paralysis,  but  gradually  caused  cerebral  exhaustion  and 
death."  On  the  i4th  the  casket  containing  the  body  of 
the  dead  warrior  was  removed  to  the  college  chapel,  and 


DEATH   AND   BURIAL. 


413 


on  the  15th  buried  in  the  area  of  the  chapel  in  a  brick 
vault  prepared  for  it.  Upon  the  marble  capping  on  the 
top  of  the  vault,  and  on  a  level  with  the  library  floor  is 
this  simple  inscription  : 

ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE, 
BORN  JANUARY  19,  1807, 
DIED  OCTOBER  12,  1870. 

Tolling  bells  first  proclaimed  the  sad  intelligence  to 
the  citizens  of  Lexington,  electric  wires  to  the  world. 
Throughout  the  South  business  was  suspended,  schools 
closed,  societies  and  associations  of  all  sorts  assembled, 
where  eulogistic  speeches  were  made,  and  resolutions 
passed  laudatory  of  General  Lee's  life  and  lamenting 
his  death.  In  those  adopted  by  the  faculty  of  the  col 
lege  it  was  declared  that  "his  executive  ability,  his  en 
larged  views  of  liberal  culture,  his  extraordinary  powers 
in  the  government  of  men,  his  wonderful  influence  over 
the  minds  of  the  young,  and  his  steady  and  earnest 
devotion  to  duty,  made  the  college  spring,  as  if  by  the 
touch  of  magic,  from  its  depressions  after  the  war  to 
its  present  firm  condition  of  permanent  and  widespread 
usefulness";  that  it  was  "a  deep  satisfaction  to  receive 
his  remains  beneath  the  chapel  he  had  built  ";  and  that 
the  "  memory  of  his  noble  life  will  remain  as  an  abiding 
inspiration  to  the  young  of  the  country  as  they  gather 
at  the  last  scene  of  his  labors,  to  emulate  his  virtues 
and  to  follow  his  great  example." 

The  board  of  college  trustees  by  resolution  extolled 
General  Lee  for  his  great  military  services,  and  for  the 
victories  won  by  him  in  the  classic  shades  of  Washington 
College,  saying  that  the  two  most  renowned  names  in 
their  respective  centuries  were  Washington  and  Lee,  and 
that  they  "  be  hereafter  associated  indissolubly  as  founder 
and  restorer  of  our  beloved  college  " ;  that  the  charter  be 
so  amended  as  to  hereafter  express  in  fit  conjunction 
the  immortal  names  of  Washington  and  Lee ;  that  the 
anniversary  of  his  birth  should  always  be  celebrated  in 
the  college ;  and  that,  with  the  co-operation  of  the  faculty, 
measures  should  be  taken  and  plans  prepared  for  the 
erection  within  the  college  grounds  of  a  suitable  monu 
ment  to  his  memory.  The  sorrowing  students  met  and 


414  GENERAL   LEE. 

resolved :  "  We  deeply  mourn  the  loss  of  one  who  in  his 
public  career  had  endeared  himself  to  us  by  all  the 
virtues  that  adorn  the  character  of  the  patriot  and 
Christian,  and  who  in  his  official  and  private  relations 
with  ourselves  has  also  won  our  peculiar  affection  and 
confidence  by  his  paternal  sympathy  and  his  tender  re 
gard  for  our  interest  as  students."  The  academic  board 
of  the  Virginia  Military  Institute,  at  Lexington,  put  on 
record  that  his  life  is  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  world, 
and  that  his  moral  excellences  inspired  love  and  ad 
miration  in  the  hearts  of  all  the  good. 

At  12.30  P.M.,  October  i5th,  1870,  one  of  the  most 
solemn,  imposing,  and  impressive  funeral  processions 
ever  assembled  moved  with  slow  tread  from  the  late 
president's  home,  through  the  streets  of  Lexington,  and 
thence  to  the  college  chapel.  At  its  head,  as  the  escort 
of  honor,  marched  the  old  Confederate  soldiers  who  had 
gathered  from  many  quarters  to  pay  a  last  tribute  to 
their  commander.  In  its  ranks  were  the  representatives 
of  the  Virginia  Legislature,  State  officials,  distinguished 
visitors,  members  of  numerous  organizations,  trustees! 
faculty,  students,  alumni,  cadets  of  the  Virginia  Mili 
tary  Institute,  and  citizens.  At  the  chapel  the  beaut, - 
ful  service  of  the  Episcopal  Church  was  read  with  great 
solemnity  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  W.  N.  Pendleton,  the  distin 
guished  officer  who  had  for  forty-five  years  been  the 
comrade  and  fellow-soldier  of  the  dead  chieftain.  The 
mournful  ceremonies  were  concluded  outside  the  chapel 
in  the  presence  of  a  vast  throng  who  were  unable  to 
enter.  The  coffin  was  then  removed  to  the  vault.  The 
large  assemblage  sang  one  of  the  general's  favorite 
hymns,  "  How  firm  a  foundation,  ye  saints  of  the  Lord," 
and  all  that  was  mortal  of  the  Christian  soldier  was 
consigned  to  the  grave. 

Traveler,  who  had  borne  in  so  many  battles  the  great 
Confederate  leader,  led  by  two  old  soldiers,  slowly  walk 
ing,  riderless,  behind  the  hearse,  covered  with  the  sable 
trappings  of  mourning,  was  a  tender  and  touching  sight. 
He  survived  his  master  but  two  years.* 

*  He  died  in  Lexington,  in  the  summer  of  1872,  of  lockjaw  caused 
by  a  nail  in  one  of  his  fore  feet.     He  was  fifteen  years  old. 


DEATH  AND   BURIAL.  415 

The  college  pledge  was  sacredly  kept,  and  a  sleep 
ing  marble  recumbent  statue  of  exquisite  workmanship, 
the  production  of  Valentine,  a  Virginia  sculptor,  after 
"  Rauch's  figure  of  Louise  of  Prussia,"  is  a  superb  monu 
ment  to  the  memory  of  its  president.  The  Washington 
and  Lee,  a  great  university,  under  the  wise  management 
of  General  Lee's  eldest  son,  has  linked  two  names  which 
spring  spontaneously  to  every  mind.  Of  these  two  men, 
exemplars  of  a  country's  character,  born  almost  a  cen 
tury  apart,  but  similar  in  the  history  of  their  boyhood, 
earnest,  grave,  studious,  alike  in  noble  carriage  and 
commanding  dignity,  it  has  been  said  that  in  the  re 
markable  combination  and  symmetry  of  their  intellectual 
qualities — all  so  equal,  so  well  developed,  no  faculty  of 
the  mind  overlapping  any  other — you  are  almost  per 
suaded  to  deny  them  greatness,  because  no  single  attri 
bute  of  the  mind  was  projected  upon  itself.  Well  may 
Virginia  be  proud  of  sons  who  shine  upon  the  pages  of 
the  world's  history  "  like  binary  stars  which  open  their 
glory  and  shed  their  splendor  on  the  darkness  of  the 
world." 

In  Virginia's  capital  city  now  stand  two  splendid 
equestrian  statues  to  George  Washington  and  Robert  E. 
Lee.  Riding  side  by  side  in  calm  majesty,  they  are 
henceforth  contemporaries  in  all  the  ages  to  come. 
The  mother  State  mourned  for  the  departed  soldier, 
and  her  General  Assembly  passed  a  bill  making  January 
ipth,  the  birthday  of  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  a  legal 
holiday  in  Virginia.  In  the  universal  mourning  for  him 
the  sympathies  of  the  world  first  flew  to  the  smitten 
family.  The  final  parting  from  her  husband  after  a 
most  happy  married  life  was  a  great  shock  to  Mrs.  Lee. 
She  had  been  a  sufferer  for  years  from  rheumatism,  un 
able  to  move  without  assistance,  and  was  described  at 
that  time  as  having  "  a  sad  but  noble  countenance,  her 
features  much  resembling  those  of  her  great-grand 
mother  Martha,  the  wife  of  Washington,  her  expression 
firm,  her  eyes  beautiful  and  sparkling  with  the  uncom 
mon  intelligence  which  marks  her  conversation,  her 
almost  snowy-white,  fine,  soft  hair,  in  waves  and  curls 
framing  her  full  forehead.  She  sits  in  her  widow's  cap 
a  grand  and  lovely  picture,  combining  in  itself  much  of 


416  GENERAL   LEE. 

the  history  and  glory  of  the  immortal  past  with  the 
modern  events  of  our  history."  When  the  South  sent 
her  sons  to  fight  under  her  husband's  command,  she  de 
voted  every  energy  to  the  cause  in  which  he  had  enlisted. 

A  very  few  extracts  from  communications  which 
reached  her  from  all  sections  in  great  numbers  can  be 
given :  A  cousin  of  the  general's,  Mr.  Edmund  I.  Lee, 
from  Shepherdstown,  October  31,  1870,  writes  Mrs.  Lee: 
"  I  can  not  find  language  to  convey  the  distress  I  felt 
when  I  first  read  the  announcement  of  Robert's  death 
in  the  papers.  The  most  pleasant  recollections  of  my 
youth  are  connected  with  him  and  his  mother's  family. 
How  often  have  I  called  to  mind  the  evenings  and  the 
mornings  spent  in  their  company ! — our  English  rab 
bits  fed  together,  and  our  daily  visits  to  the  markets 
in  Alexandria  to  procure  meat  and  vegetables  for  our 
mothers,  each  carrying  his  own  basket;  his  rescuing 
me  on  one  occasion  from  the  fangs  of  his  father's  mas 
tiff,  Killbuck,  and  the  grief  of  his  mother  and  sisters 
when  your  aunt — Mrs.  Lewis — having  procured  from 
President  Jackson  a  cadet  warrant  (which  was  given 
upon  her  application,  as  a  personal  favor  to  her),  it  be 
came  necessary  to  send  him  to  West  Point ;  and  my  prof 
fering  my  own  services  to  attend  in  Robert's  place  to 
his  mother's  business — for  his  gentle,  affectionate  man 
ners  had  attached  all  his  relations  to  him  in  early  life." 

From  Savannah,  Ga.,  October  15,  1870,  General 
Joseph  E.  Johnston  wrote  her : 

MY  DEAR  MADAM  :  Although  you  are  receiving  the  strong 
est  proofs  that  a  whole  people  are  sharing  in  your  great  sorrow, 
I  venture  to  write,  not  merely  to  say  how  I,  General  Lee's  earliest 
and  most  devoted  friend,  lament  his  death  and  how  sadly  the 
event  will  visit  my  memory  while  I  stay  on  earth,  but,  still  more, 
to  assure  you  of  my  deep  sympathy  in  this  greatest  bereavement 
a  human  being  can  know,  and  of  my  fervent  prayers  to  our  merci 
ful  God  that  he  may  grant  his  help  to  you  and  your  children. 

Most  sincerely  and  truly  your  friend, 

(Signed)  J.  E.  JOHNSTON. 

A  dear  little  girl  wrote  : 

I  have  heard  of  General  Lee,  your  husband,  and  of  all  his 
great  and  noble  deeds  during  the  war.  I  have  also  heard  lately 
of  his  death.  I  have  read  in  the  papers  that  collections  are  being 


DEATH  AND   BURIAL.  417 

made  for  the  Lee  monument.  I  have  asked  my  mother  to  let 
me  send  some  money — not  money  that  she  gave  me,  but  money 
that  I  earned  myself.  I  made  some  of  my  money  by  keeping  the 
door  shut  last  winter,  and  the  rest  I  made  by  digging  up  grass  in 
the  garden.  I  send  you  all  I  have.  I  wish  it  was  more.  I  am 
nine  now.  Respectfully,  MAGGIE  MclNTYRE. 

Rev.  R.  S.  Stewart  wrote  to  Mrs.  Lee  from  Baltimore, 
December  29,  1872  :  "  Accident  a  few  weeks  ago  led  me  to 
read  over  again  after  fifty  years  the  Scottish  Chiefs,  and 
I  have  been  so  struck  with  the  identity  of  character  be 
tween  Sir  William  Wallace  and  General  Lee  that  I  can 
not  help  mentioning  it  to  you  and  asking  you  to  read 
this  book  again,  if  you  have  not  done  so,  since  the  late 
struggle  for  Southern  liberty  commenced.  In  reading  it 
myself,  I  find  every  noble  sentiment  of  religion,  of  pa 
triotism,  and  of  humanity  expressed  that  we  all  heard 
from  the  lips  or  pen  of  your  noble  husband,  and  so  simi 
lar  are  the  natures  of  the  two  men  that  I  could  almost 
believe  in  the  transmigration  of  souls.  As,  a  descendant 
of  an  old  Scottish  family  I  have  always  felt  proud  of 
Wallace  and  cherished  his  memory." 

The  Hon.  Beresford  Hope,  A.  B.,*  wrote  from  Bed- 
gebery  Park,  Cranbrook,  England,  November  25,  1872, 
to  Mrs.  Lee,  thanking  her  for  photographs  of  General 
Lee,  and  added,  "  They  embody  to  us  heroic  virtue  and 
purest  patriotism,  the  most  exalted  military  genius,  the 
highest  and  purest  domestic  excellence,  while  the  impress 
of  your  pencil  and  your  autograph  doubles  their  value." 

From  Aldenham  Bridge,  North  Shropshire,  England, 
a  lady  sent  Mrs.  Lee  a  copy  of  a  lecture  delivered  by 
her  husband,  and  wrote,  January  24,  1866,  that  she  did 
it  "  in  order  to  add  one  to  the  many  testimonies  which 

*  Mr.  Hope  will  be  remembered  as  the  English  gentleman  who 
principally  contributed  to  the  Jackson  statue  which  now  stands  in  Capi 
tol  Square,  Richmond,  and  who  had  more  to  do  with  its  presentation  to 
the  State  of  Virginia  than  any  one  else.  General  Lee  was  also  pre 
sented  with  a  magnificently  illustrated  Bible  from  Mr.  Hope  and  his 
wife,  Lady  Mildred,  a  sister  of  the  present  Lord  Salisbury,  together 
with  other  members  of  the  family  and  friends.  The  dedication  reads 
thus  :  "  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  Commanding  the  Confederate  Army, 
from  the  Undersigned  Englishmen  and  Englishwomen,  recognizing  the 
Genius  of  the  General,  admiring  the  Humanity  of  the  Man,  respecting 
the  Virtues  of  the  Christian.  October  18,  1864." 


4i 8  GENERAL   LEE. 

you  must  have  received  of  the  sympathy  and  venera 
tion  which  have  been  inspired  in  Europe  by  the  illus 
trious  career  of  General  Lee.  I  have  less  difficulty  in 
presuming  to  do  so,  because  the  passages  in  which  those 
feelings  were  most  strongly  expressed  are  omitted  in 
this  report.  They  were  received  with  enthusiasm  by  a 
Shropshire  audience  who  believed  (I  know  not  with 
what  justice,  though  we  should  be  proud  if  it  were 
true)  that  the  family  of  the  general  once  belonged  to 
this  country."  The  Southland — plowed  with  graves  and 
reddened  with  blood,  that  can  look  the  proudest  nation 
fearlessly  in  the  face,  and  whose  sons  he  led  to  battle — 
joined  in  the  lamentation  over  her  distinguished  son. 

The  Hon.  Jefferson  Davis,  eloquently  speaking  at  the 
memorial  meeting  in  Richmond,  said  that  "  this  day  we 
unite  our  words  of  sorrow  with  those  of  the  good  and 
great  throughout  Christendom,  for  his  fame  has  gone 
over  the  water;  and  when  the  monument  we  build  shall 
have  crumbled  into  dust,  his  virtues  will  still  live — a  high 
model  for  the  imitations  of  generations  yet  unborn." 
And  Benjamin  Hill,  of  Georgia,  in  beautiful  phrase  de 
claimed  :  "  He  was  a  foe  without  hate,  a  friend  without 
treachery,  a  soldier  without  cruelty,  and  a  victim  with 
out  murmuring.  He  was  a  public  officer  without  vices, 
a  private  citizen  without  wrong,  a  neighbor  without 
reproach,  a  Christian  without  hypocrisy,  and  a  man  with 
out  guilt.  He  was  Caesar  without  his  ambition,  Fred 
erick  without  his  tyranny,  Napoleon  without  his  selfish 
ness,  and  Washington  without  his  reward.  He  was  as 
obedient  to  authority  as  a  servant  and  royal  in  authority 
as  a  king.  He  was  as  gentle  as  a  woman  in  life,  pure 
and  modest  as  a  virgin  in  thought,  watchful  as  a  Roman 
vestal,  submissive  to  law  as  Socrates,  and  grand  in  bat 
tle  as  Achilles." 

The  Southern  leader  had  no  ambition  except  the 
consciousness  of  duty  faithfully  performed.  Far  re 
moved  from  political  or  civic  ambition,  he  would  have 
declined  the  presidency  of  the  Confederate  States  if  his 
sword  had  carved  their  independence  as  readily  as  he 
did  positions  carrying  great  salaries.  He  once  said  that 
the  only  public  office  he  ever  might  be  inclined  to  ac 
cept  would  be  the  chief  magistracy  of  his  beloved  native 


DEATH  AND   BURIAL. 


419 


State ;  and  yet  when  Judge  Robert  Ould,  of  Richmond, 
wrote  him  that  there  was  a  universal  demand  that  he 
should  become  Governor  of  Virginia,  he  replied,  after 
expressing  his  high  appreciation  of  the  position  and  the 
desires  of  the  people :  "  I  candidly  confess,  however, 
that  my  feelings  induce  me  to  prefer  private  life,  which 
I  think  more  suitable  to  my  condition  and  age,  and 
where  I  believe  I  can  better  subserve  the  interests  of 
my  State  than  in  that  you  propose.  This  is  no  time  for 
the  indulgence  of  personal  or  political  considerations  in 
selecting  individuals  for  supposed  former  services.  Be 
lieving  that  there  are  many  men  in  the  State  more  capa 
ble  than  I  of  filling  the  position,  and  who  could  do  more 
to  promote  the  interests  of  the  people,  I  most  respect 
fully  decline  to  be  considered  a  candidate  for  the  office." 
He  thought  that  his  election  would  excite  hostility  to 
ward  the  State  and  injure  its  inhabitants  in  the  eyes 
of  the  country,  and  he  therefore  refused  to  consent  to 
become  an  instrument  of  bringing  distress  upon  those 
whose  prosperity  and  happiness  were  so  dear  to  him. 
He  adds :  "  If  my  disfranchisement  and  prohibition  of 
civil  rights  would  secure  to  the  citizens  of  the  State  the 
enjoyment  of  civil  liberty  and  equal  rights  under  the 
Constitution,  I  would  willingly  accept  them  in  their 
stead."  It  is  perhaps  well  that  he  was  not  launched 
into  public  life,  where  all  his  actions  would  have  passed 
in  review  before  a  hostile  political  party.  After  his 
sword  was  sheathed,  the  serene  patience  and  quiet  self- 
consecration  of  his  latest  years  have  filled  the  world 
with  admiration. 


MILITARY    CHARACTER. 


IT  is  difficult  to  accurately  compare  Lee's  military 
genius  even  with  that  of  the  more  modern  great  cap 
tains  of  war,  except  in  strategical  science,  for  he  be 
lieved  with  them  that  "  in  planning  all  dangers  should 
be  seen,  in  execution  none,  unless  very  formidable." 
The  great  improvements  in  firearms  have  changed  the 
tactics  of  the  battlefield.  Troops  are  no  longer  brought 
to  a  halt  in  the  polite  phrase  of  the  French,  "  Halt  your 
banners,  in  the  name  of  God,  the  king,  and  St.  Denis," 
but  by  bugle  notes.  Armies  are  no  longer  unable  to 
contest  because  the  strings  of  crossbows  are  slackened 
by  rain ;  short  lances  have  been  replaced  by  bayonets 
on  revolving  breech-loading  rifles ;  arbalest,  phalanx, 
and  other  former  military  terms  are  no  longer  heard,  and 
wonderful  transformation  has  taken  place  since  the  day 
on  which  the  blind  King  of  Bohemia  was  led  on  the 
field  of  Cre"gy  that  he  might  deal  one  blow  of  his  sword 
in  battle.  Marvelous  metamorphoses  have  taken  place 
even  since  1815.  Imagine  the  Federal  and  Confederate 
armies  in  a  campaign  in  Belgium  in  1861-1865,  and  that 
the  Federal  commander  had  accepted  battle  on  the  field 
of  Waterloo  and  taken  up  the  line  of  defense  adopted 
by  Wellington.  He  would  not  have  compressed  sixty- 
seven  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty-one*  men  in  bat 
tle  lines  within  a  space  of  two  miles  on  the  Wavre  road, 
on  a  slope  void  of  intrenchments.  The  chateau  of 
Hougoumont  and  its  inclosures  might  have  been  strong 
ly  occupied  to  add  increased  strength  to  the  right  of  the 
line  of  battle ;  but  it  is  improbable  that  La  Haye  Sainte, 

*  Number  of  English  troops  engaged  at  Waterloo. 
(420) 


MILITARY  CHARACTER.  42  i 

three  hundred  yards  in  front  of  the  center  on  the  Charle- 
roi  turnpike,  and  the  little  villages  of  Papelotte,  La 
Haie,  and  Smohain,  from  a  quarter  to  a  half  mile  in 
front  of  the  left,  would  have  been  occupied  except  by 
skirmishers.  The  flanks  of  a  Federal  army  equal  in 
numbers  to  the  English  would  have  been  twice  as  far 
apart,  and  the  whole  line  well  protected  by  earthworks. 
Lee  would  not  have  attacked  as  Napoleon  did  if  the 
Union  troops  had  been  placed  precisely  as  Wellington 
arranged  his,  nor  would  his  seventy-one  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  forty-seven  troops  (number  of  the  French) 
been  tactically  formed  like  the  Emperor's. 

The  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  fought  forty-eight 
years  after  that  of  Waterloo.  A  comparison  of  the  two 
strikingly  shows  the  changes  in  the  art  of  war  in  a  half- 
century  only.  There  was  a  similarity  of  purpose  on  the 
part  of  Lee  on  the  third  day's  encounter  at  Gettysburg 
and  the  French  emperor  at  Waterloo.  The  sun  rises  in 
Belgium  in  June  at  3.48  A.  M.,  in  Pennsylvania  in  July 
at  4.30  A.M.  Napoleon,  at  11.30  A.  M.,  ordered  Reille, 
on  his  left,  to  attack  Hougoumont  on  the  English  right 
with  his  left  division  as  a  diversion,  while  his  main  in 
tention  was  to  attack  the  British  center  and  left  center 
by  his  first  corps,  under  D'Erlon,  and  brought  up  sev 
enty-eight  cannon  to  fire  an  hour  and  a  half,  at  less  than 
a  third  of  a  mile  from  the  crest  which  the  English  occu 
pied  ;  but  D'Erlon  was  not  ordered  forward  until  half- 
past  one.  Ewell,  on  Lee's  left,  was  ordered  to  make  a 
demonstration  on  the  Federal  right ;  cannon  fired  for 
hours,  and  then  Pickett's  assaulting  column  attempted 
to  pierce  the  center  and  left  center  of  the  Union  lines. 
Count  Reille  managed  to  get  nearly  the  whole  of  his 
corps  engaged,  but  effected  nothing.  Ewell  got  his 
troops  early  in  action,  but  with  no  results.  The  fight 
ing  of  both  had  terminated  before  the  main  operations 
began.  Napoleon's  object  was  to  seize  Mont  St.  Jean, 
in  rear  of  Wellington's  center,  so  as  to  possess  himself 
of  the  principal  avenue  of  retreat  open  to  the  British — 
the  road  to  Brussels.  Lee's  object  was  to  get  posses 
sion  of  the  Baltimore  pike  and  road  to  Westminster, 
Meade's  chief  route  of  retreat  to  his  base  of  supplies. 
D'Erlon  was  unsuccessful ;  so  was  Pickett.  Before  the 

28 


422  GENERAL   LEE. 

former  moved  out,  the  Prussians  of  Bliicher  were  seen 
on  the  heights  of  St.  Lambert ;  and  the  Sixth  French 
Corps,  instead  of  supporting  the  operations  of  the  First 
Corps,  as  had  been  intended,  was  taken  away  and  em 
ployed  in  resisting  their  progress.  The  troops  ordered 
to  support  General  Pickett  lay  on  their  arms  waiting 
orders  from  a  corps  commander  charged  with  the  assault, 
which  were  never  given. 

The  formation  of  Count  d'Erlon's  corps  for  the 
charge  in  1815,  and  that  of  Pickett  in  1863,  is  an  apt 
illustration  of  tactical  mutability.  D'Erlon's  attack  was 
made  in  four  columns  in  echelon,  the  left  in  advance ; 
the  first  or  left  column  was  composed  of  two  brigades, 
each  brigade  of  four  battalions,  one  behind  the  other ; 
each  battalion  was  in  three  ranks,  and  the  distance  be 
tween  the  battalions  five  paces;  the  next  column  had 
nine  battalions,  and  the  other  two  eight  each — twenty- 
nine  battalions  in  all.  Sixteen  thousand  men  in  twenty- 
nine  battalions  would  give  approximately  six  hundred 
men  to  the  battalion ;  and  when  in  three  ranks  a  front 
of  two  hundred  men  for  each  one  of  the  four  charging 
columns.  If  the  front  of  each  column  had  been  on  the 
same  line,  instead  of  in  echelon,  eight  hundred  men 
would  have  been  in  the  front  rank.  It  was  intended 
that  this  force  should  break  through  by  impact,  for  only 
the  few  men  in  front  could  fire.  Pickett,  with  nearly  as 
many  troops,*  had  nine  brigades  in  two  ranks,  in  two 
long  lines — six  brigades  in  the  first  and  three  in  the 
second.  The  front  line  had  some  ten  thousand  men, 
which  in  two  ranks  would  give  a  front  of  five  thousand 
men  instead  of  eight  hundred !  The  dense  masses  of 
D'Erlon's  corps  would  have  been  butchered  by  the  con 
centrated,  converging,  rapid  fire  of  modern  breech-load 
ing  guns,  big  and  small,  before  their  banners  could  have 
been  shaken  to  the  breeze.  We  say,  therefore,  it  is  not 
easy  to  compare  Lee  with  the  great  soldiers  of  former 
ages,  except  as  a  strategist. 

In  strategy  it  is  certain  Lee  stands  in  the  front  rank 
of  the  great  warriors  of  the  world.  He  was  a  greater 
soldier  than  Sir  Henry  Havelock,  and  equally  as  devout 

*  Exclusive  of  Wilcox's  brigade,  which  was  not  in  the  charge  proper. 


MILITARY  CHARACTER. 


423 


a  Christian.  "  There  was  not  a  heart  in  England,"  it 
was  said,  when  Havelock  died,  thirteen  years  before 
Lee,  at  about  the  same  age,  "that  did  not  feel  it  to  be  a 
subject  for  private  as  well  as  public  mourning";  and  so 
the  South  felt  toward  Lee.  It  is  stated  that  it  was  im 
possible  to  gauge  the  full  measure  of  Moltke's  potentiali 
ties  as  a  strategist  and  organizer,  but  perhaps  Lee  with 
the  same  opportunities  would  have  been  equally  as  skill 
ful  and  far-seeing.  The  success  of  the  former  and  fail 
ure  of  the  latter  does  not  prevent  comparison.  Kossuth 
failed  in  Hungary,  but  the  close  of  his  long  life  has  been 
strewn  with  flowers.  Scotland  may  never  become  an 
independent  country,  but  Scotchmen  everywhere  cherish 
with  pride  the  fame  of  Wallace  and  Bruce.  If  given  an 
opportunity,  said  General  Scott,  who  commanded  the 
army  of  the  United  States  in  1861,  Lee  "will  prove 
himself  the  greatest  captain  of  history."  He  had  the 
swift  intuition  to  discern  the  purpose  of  his  opponent, 
and  the  power  of  rapid  combination  to  oppose  to  it 
prompt  resistance.  The  very  essence  of  modern  war 
was  comprised  in  the  four  years'  campaign,  demanding 
a  greater  tax  upon  the  mental  and  physical  qualifica 
tions  of  a  leader  than  the  fifteen  years  of  Hannibal  in 
the  remote  past.  Military  misconceptions  have  been 
charged  to  him ;  but  Marshal  Turenne  has  said,  "  Show 
me  the  man  who  never  made  mistakes,  and  I  will  show 
you  one  who  has  never  made  war." 

The  impartial  historian,  in  reviewing  Lee's  campaigns 
and  the  difficult  conditions  with  which  he  was  always 
confronted,  must  at  least  declare  that  no  commander 
could  have  accomplished  more.  In  his  favor  was,  how 
ever,  that  ponderous  force  known  as  the  spirit  of  the 
army,  which  counterbalanced  his  enemy's  excess  of  men 
and  guns.  Important  battles  are  sometimes  lost  in  spite 
of  the  best-conceived  plans  of  the  general  commanding. 
The  battle  of  Ligny,  with  the  fate  of  a  great  campaign 
trembling  on  the  result,  was  not  made  a  decisive  victory 
because  Ney,  at  Quatre-Bras,  showed  a  distrust  of  his 
emperor's  judgment,  was  unwilling  to  take  the  most 
obvious  step,  and  finally  disobeyed  orders;  and  like 
behavior  of  a  corps  commander  at  Gettysburg  defeated 
the  well-devised  designs  of  Lee. 
28 


424 


GENERAL   LEE. 


It  has  been  wisely  said  that  man  is  under  no  circum 
stance  so  nearly  independent  as  he  is  when  the  next  step 
is  for  life  or  death ;  and  an  infinite  number  of  such  inde 
pendent  forces  influences  the  course  of  a  battle — a  course 
which  can  never  be  foreseen,  and  can  never  coincide  with 
that  which  it  would  take  under  the  impulsion  of  a  sin 
gle  force.  There  are  always  inevitable  conditions  under 
which  a  commander  in  chief  carries  on  his  operations. 
The  world  places  Lee  by  the  side  of  its  greatest  cap 
tains,  because  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  conflicting 
anxieties,  interests,  and  the  gravity  of  issues  involved, 
he  only  surrendered  his  battle-stained,  bullet-riddled 
banners  after  demonstrating  that  all  had  been  done 
that  mortal  could  accomplish.  The  profession  of  the 
soldier  has  been  honored  by  his  renown,  the  cause  of 
education  by  his  virtues,  religion  by  his  piety. 

"  The  greatest  gift  the  hero  leaves  his  race 
Is  to  have  been  a  hero." 


INDEX. 


Acquia  Creek,  Va.,  102,  135. 
Addison,  Joseph,  quoted,  171. 
Alexander,  Colonel  E.  P.,  mentioned, 


231,  253,  292,  293. 

lia  Coi 
383. 


Amelia  Court  House,  Va.,  379,  380, 


Anderson,  Colonel  G.  T.,  mentioned, 
212. 

Anderson,  General,  mentioned,  141, 
206,  254 ;  at  Gettysburg,  279,  288 ; 
succeeds  Longstreet,  331 ;  recalled, 
352  ;  at  Five  Forks,  376. 

Anderson,  General  Robert,  men 
tioned,  87. 

Andrew,  Governor  John  A.,  men 
tioned,  145. 

Antietam,  battle  of,  208. 

Appomattox  Court  House,  Va.,  386, 

387- 

Arab  couplet  quoted,  114. 

Archer's  brigade  at  Gettysburg,  296. 

Aristo,  General  Mariano,  32. 

Arlington  Heights,  108. 

Arlington  House,  Va.,  mentioned, 
26,  49,  63,  65,  71,  72,  76,  77,  85,  88, 
89,  99,  198,  366. 

Arlington  slaves  liberated,  236,  238. 

Armies  of  the  Confederacy,  326. 

Armistead,  General  Lewis,  men 
tioned,  58,  288;  killed  at  Gettys 
burg,  296. 

Army  of  the  James,  387. 

Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  311,  312, 
348,  379,  386. 

Army  of  the  Potomac,  173,  182,  309, 
3i3,  35i,  377- 

Army  of  the  Shenandoah,  352. 

Army  of  the  Tennessee,  372. 

Army  of  Virginia,  175. 

Assault  on  Fort  Stedman,  371. 

Austin,  Stephen  F.,  mentioned,  31. 

Averell,  General  William  W.,  men 
tioned,  241,  242,  340,  341. 

Babcock,  Colonel,  of  Grant's  staff, 
mentioned,  392,  393. 

(425) 


Ball,  Mary,  mentioned,  i. 

Banks  Ford,  Va.,  244. 

Banks,  General  Nathaniel  P.,  men 
tioned,  109,  143,  180. 

Barksdale's  brigade,  224 ;  killed  at 
Gettysburg,  302. 

Barlow,  General,  wounded  at  Get 
tysburg,  302. 

Bayard,  General  George  D.,  men 
tioned,  228. 

Beauregard,  General  P.  G.  T.,  men 
tioned,  48,  87,  107,  108,  no,  in, 
132,  137,  346 ;  notice  of,  100 ;  pro 
moted,  133,  134;  at  Petersburg, 
360 ;  sent  against  Sherman,  369. 

Beaver  Dam  Creek,  158,  too,  168. 

Beckwith,  General  Amos,  103. 

Benedict,  Colonel  G.  G.,  letter  to, 
299. 

Benjamin,  Judah  P.,  324. 

Benton,  Thomas  H.,  52. 

Berkeley,  Sir  William,  mentioned,  3, 
4- 

Birney,  General  James  G.,  men 
tioned,  247. 

Black  Hawk,  mentioned,  48. 

Blackburn's  Ford,  Va.,  189. 

Blair,  Francis  P.,  mentioned,  85. 

Blenker,  General,  mentioned,  109. 

Bloody  angle,  the,  Gettysburg,  335. 

Blucher,  Field-Martial,  142,  422. 

Bohemia,  the  blind  King  of,  420. 

Bolivar  Heights,  202. 

Boswell,  Captain,  killed  at  Chancel- 
lorsville,  251. 

Brackett,  Captain  Albert  G.,  men 
tioned,  54. 

Bragg,  General  Braxton,  mentioned, 
47,  54;  re-enforced,  313;  opposed 
to  Schofield,  370. 

Branch,  General  L.  O.  B.,  killed  at 
Antietam,  215. 

Breckinridge,  General  John  C.,  men 
tioned,  83,  341,  369. 

Bristol  Station,  £8*7,  189. 

Brockenbrough's  brigade,  288. 


426 


GENERAL   LEE. 


Brockenbrough,  Judge  John  W.,  403. 
Brown,  John,  mentioned,  74,  75,  76, 

83- 

Bryan,  Lee's  steward,  233,  234,  366. 

Buckingham,  Governor,  of  Connecti 
cut,  221. 

Buckland  Races,  317. 

Buena  Vista,  the  battle  of,  109. 

Buford,  General  John,  at  Gettys 
burg,  270,  271. 

Bull  Run,  the  battle  of,  109. 

Burnside,  General  Ambrose  E.,  men 
tioned,  47,  48,  105,  176,  177,  180, 
182,  205,  215 ;  commands  army, 
character,  222 ;  mentioned,  224, 
225,  226,  228,  229,  238,  239,  240 ; 
his  corps  at  Petersburg,  355. 

Burnt  House  Fields,  4. 

Bustamente,  General,  mentioned,  32. 

Butler,  General  Benjamin  F.,  men 
tioned,  no,  323,  340;  "bottled 
up,"  341. 

Butterfield,  General  Daniel,  men 
tioned,  226,  241,  302. 

Calhoun,  John  C.,  mentioned,  43. 
Cameron,    Simon,    mentioned,    88, 

103. 

Campbell  Court  House,  387. 
Camp  Cooper,  Texas,  59,  61,  66,  68, 

69. 

Carnot,  quotation  from,  49. 
Carrick's  Ford,  115. 
Carroll,  Governor,  of  Maryland,  300. 
Carter,  Anne  Hill,  16. 
Carter,  Charles  Hill,  16. 
Casey,  General  Silas,  167. 
Catumseh,  a  chief,  73. 
Cavalry  contest  at  Gettysburg,  298. 
Cavalry  raids,  266. 
Cemetery  Heights,  292. 
Cemetery  Hill,  273. 
Cemetery  Ridge,  289-296. 
Cerro  Gordo,  battle  of,  38,  40. 
Chambliss,  General  John  R.,  killed, 

362. 

Champe,  Sergeant,  9. 
Chancellorsville,  battle  of,  241. 
Chapman,  Major  William,  63. 
Chapultepec,  battle  of,  41,  42. 
Charleston  Harbor,  86. 
Charles  II,  3,  4. 
Chase,  Salmon  P.,  268. 
Chester  Gap,  307. 
Childe,  Edward,  19. 
Childe,  Matilda  Lee,  19,  60. 
Chilton,  R.  H.,  mentioned,  159. 
Clay,  Henry,  mentioned,  32. 
Clitz,  General  Henry,  172. 


Cobb,  General  Thomas  R.,  men 
tioned,  231 ;  killed  at  Fredericks- 
burg,  233. 

Cocke,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  R.,  402. 

Coleston's  division,  25. 

Comanches,  tribe  of,  72. 

Confederate  cavalry,  387. 

Confederate  Congress,  93. 

Confederate  conscription,  350. 

Confederate  currency,  350,  402. 

Confederate  rations,  350,  367,  383, 

396- 

Confederate  States,  86,  94. 

Confederates,  large  capture  of,  335. 

Cooper,  General   Samuel,  59;   pro 
moted,  133,  134. 
j  Corbin,  Letitia,  mentioned,  5. 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  136. 
!  Cortez,  Hernando,  31,  45. 
j  Couch,  General,  206,  218,  229,  243, 
244 ;  succeeds  Hooker,  254. 

Cox,  General  Jacob  D.,  116. 

Crampton's  Gap,  205,  206. 

Crecy,  the  battle  of,  420. 

Creole,  a  favorite  horse,  34. 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  34,  56. 

Crook,  General,  mentioned,  340, 350, 

373- 

Culpeper  Court  House,  140,  179,  220. 

Gulp's  Hill,  274,  277,  284,  299. 

Cumberland  Sound,  Ga.,  14,  15. 

Gushing,  Lieutenant  A.  H.,  at  Get 
tysburg,  296. 

Custer's  cavalry  division,  373. 

Custis,  George  Washington  Parke, 
mentioned,  25,  65,  84 ;  death  of, 
71 ;  his  will,  237. 

Custis,  John  Parke,  71. 

Custis,  Mrs.  G.  W.  P.,  death  of,  51. 

Custis,  Mary  A.  R.,  25,  26. 

Dahlgren,  Colonel  Ulric,  death  of, 

324- 

Davis,  Colonel  B.  F.,  mentioned,  203. 
Davis,  Jefferson,  mentioned,  52,  53, 

54,  62,  95,  96,  108,  134,  149,  260 ; 

letter  to  Lee,  310 ;  his  cabinet,  324 ; 

mentioned,  369;    at   church,  379, 

384;  indicted,  400;  comments  on 

Lee,  418. 

Dearing,  General,  killed,  384. 
Deep  Bottom,  on  the  James,  350. 
D'Erlon's  First  Corps,  421,  422. 
Devil's  Den,  Gettysburg,  274,  285. 
Devin,  General  Thomas  C.,  373. 
Dinwiddie  Court  House,  376. 
Disaster  at  Five  Forks,  376. 
Dix,  General  John  A.,  109,  172. 
Doubleday,  General,  209,  227. 


INDEX. 


427 


Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  83. 
Drewry's  Bluff  on  the  James,  350. 
Dungeness,  Cumberland  Island,  14, 

15,  410. 
Dutch  Gap  Canal,  361. 

Early,  General  Jubal,  notice  of,  47 ; 
mentioned,  228,  266,  276 ;  defeats 
Wallace,  351 ;  in  front  of  Wash 
ington,  351. 

Elliott's  infantry  brigade,  355 ; 
wounded  at  Petersburg,  358. 

Embargo  Act,  the,  81. 

Emory,  General  William  H.,  54,  352. 

Evans,  Captain,  mentioned,  235. 

Evelington  Heights,  166. 

Everett,  Washington,  84. 

Ewell,  General  Richard  S.,  notice  of, 
47;  mentioned,  109,  137,  143,  177, 
188,  190  ;  his  character,  259 ;  men 
tioned,  263,  265,  277,  299 ;  in  com 
mand  of  Richmond,  381 ;  captured, 
385- 

Fairfax  Court  House,  195. 

Fair  Oaks,  battle  of,  146,  148. 

Falling  Waters,  303,  304,  306. 

Ferrero,  General,  mentioned,  359. 

Field,  Charles,  mentioned,  54. 

Fitzhugh,  Major,  mentioned,  182. 

Floyd,  John  B.,  113,  117-119,  123, 
125,  134. 

Fort  Brown,  Texas,  65,  66. 

Fort  Donelson  taken  by  Grant,  131. 

Fort  Fisher,  fall  of,  368. 

Fort  Hamilton,  30. 

Fort  Henry  captured,  131. 

Fort  Monroe,  75,  135,  137,  308. 

Fort  Moultrie,  87. 

Fort  Sumter,  86,  87,  101. 

Fourth  United  States  Infantry,  327. 

Foy,  General,  quoted,  56. 

Forrest,  General  N.  B.,  24. 

Franklin,  General  William  B.,  men 
tioned,  138,  140,  194,  196,  206,  226, 
228. 

Fredericksburg,  battle  of,  222. 

Fremont,  General  John  C.,  143,  179. 

French,  General,  mentioned,  230. 

Fry,  Colonel  D.  B.,  at  Fredericks- 
burg,  296. 

Gaines  Mill,  battle  of,  145,  169. 
Garland,  General,  killed,  207. 
Garnett,    General,    mentioned,   207, 

294,  296  ;  killed  at  Gettysburg,  294. 
Garnett,  Robert  S.,  mentioned,  102, 

JI3- 
General  Orders  No.  i,  Lee's,  368. 


George  i       mentioned,  79. 

Germania  Ford,  243. 

Gettysburg,  battle  of,  142,  270  ; 
in,  302. 

Gettysburg  and  Vicksburg,  309;  re 
moval  of  dead,  409 ;  compared  with 
Waterloo,  421. 

Gibbons,  General,  244. 

Gloucester  Point,  Va.,  136. 

Gooch,  Sir  William,  mentioned,  5. 

Gordon,  General  James  B. ,  337. 

Gordon,  General  John  B. ,  mentioned, 
241,  336,  37i,  387- 

Gorgas,  General,  99,  no. 

Gosport  navy  yard,  139. 

Grace  Church,  Lexington,  Va.,  411. 

Grace  Darling,  Lee's  horse,  181. 

Graham,  William,  mentioned,  405. 

Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  mentioned,  46, 
48 ;  character,  326 ;  crosses  the 
Rapidan,  328  ;  in  the  Wilderness, 
332 ;  dispatch  to  Halleck,  336 ; 
crosses  the  Pamunkey,  340 ;  at  Cold 
Harbor,  341,  342 ;  attacks  Peters 
burg,  346 ;  at  City  Point,  349 ;  or 
ders  assault,  377 ;  enters  Peters 
burg,  382 ;  proposes  surrender, 
388 ;  sends  second  letter,  389 ;  his 
third  note,  391 ;  final  note  to  Lee, 
392  ;  receives  Lee's  surrender,  393 ; 
conditions,  394  ;  liberal  terms,  395 ; 
generosity  at  Appomattox,  398  ;  in 
terferes  in  behalf  of  Lee,  401. 

Grape  Vine  Bridge,  162. 

Gray,  General  William,  10. 

Greene,  General  Nathanael,  10,  14, 
15,  16,  410. 

Gregg,  General,  killed  at  Fredericks- 
burg,  233. 

Gregg's  cavalry  division,  270,  284, 
298,  3i5»  343 ;  captured,  386. 

Griffin's  division  in  the  Wilderness, 
329- 

Halleck,  General  William  H.,  men 
tioned,  175,  179,  180,  194,  195,  196, 

200,    202,    2l6,    2l8,    219,    220,    239, 
262,  268,  305,  306. 

Hamilton's  Crossing,  226,  227. 

Hampton,  General  Wade,  men 
tioned,  181,  183,  205,  219,  224,  241 ; 
wounded  at  Gettysburg,  298 ;  con 
fronts  Sheridan,  344. 

Hampton  Roads,  Va.,  27. 

Hancock,  General  Winfield  S.,  no 
tice  of,  47 ;  mentioned,  230,  272, 
281,  334,  339,  347,  3^2- 

Hanover  Court  House,  153,  158, 
305- 


428 


GENERAL  LEE. 


Hardee,  General  James,  mentioned, 

269. 
Hardee,  General  William  J.,  54,  58, 

59.  369- 

Harold  at  Hastings,  278. 
Harper's  Ferry,  74,  75,  76,  103,  202, 

203,  220,  303. 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  the  signer,  10. 
Harrison's  Landing,  Va.,  170. 
Harvie's,  Lewis,  statement,  383. 
Haskell,    Lieutenant-Colonel    John, 

358. 

Hatcher's  Run,  Va.,  376. 
Havelock,  Sir  Henry,  422. 
Havens,     Benny,    of    West    Point, 

222. 

Haxall's  plantation,  Va.,  170. 

Heintzelman,  General,  mentioned, 
140,  145,  186. 

Henry,  Patrick,  10. 

Heth's  division,  270. 

Hickory  Hill,  Va.,  305. 

Hill,  General  Ambrose  P.,  notice  of, 
47 ;  mentioned,  104,  253,  260 ; 
killed,  378 ;  described,  378. 

Hill,  Benjamin,  tribute  to  Lee,  418. 

Hill,  General  D.  H.,  notice  of,  47; 
mentioned,  140,  148,  172,  203,  205, 
208. 

Hilton  Head,  130. 

Hoke's  brigade,  339. 

Holmes,  General,  101,  133,  135,  160. 

Hood,  General  John  B.,  54,  203;  at 
Gettysburg,  279,  280. 

Hooker,  General  Joseph,  notice  of, 
47,  48  ;  mentioned,  188,  195,  205  ; 
succeeds  Burnside,  234 ;  mentioned, 
240,  242,  243,  244 ;  wounded  at 
Chancellorsville,  254 ;  Order  No. 
49,  257  ;  mentioned,  262,  263,  264  ; 
relieved,  268 ;  sent  to  the  South 
west,  314. 

Hope,  Beresford,  A.  B.,  417. 

Hope,  Lady  Mildred,  417. 

Hougoumont,  Chateau  of,  420,  421. 

Houston,  General  Sam,  53. 

Howard,  General  Oliver  O.,  men 
tioned,  229,  272,  284. 

Huger,  General  Benjamin,  101. 

Humphreys,  General,  mentioned, 
218,  230,  389. 

Hunt,  General  Henry  J.,  290. 

Hunter,  General  David,  mentioned, 
341,  351,  405. 

Hunter,  R.  M.  T.,  mentioned,  52. 

Imboden,   General,    at    Gettysburg, 

300. 
Invasion  of  Virginia,  99. 


Jackson,  Andrew,  mentioned,  17; 
toast  to,  222. 

Jackson,  General  Thomas  J.,  notice 
of,  47;  mentioned,  133,  135,  137, 
140,  141,  144,  153,  155,  157,  165, 
177,  181,  186,  187,  190,  191,  201, 
209,  211,  224,  228,  232,  245,  246; 
his  last  note,  249  ;  last  words,  252  ; 
death  at  Chancellorsville,  252  ;  last 
order,  '252. 

Jackson,  General  H.  R.,  118,  123. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  6,  10,  32. 

Jenkins's  cavalry  brigade,  263,  265 ; 
at  Gettysburg,  297. 

Jesup,  General  Thomas  S.,  134. 

Johnson,  General  Bushrod,  men 
tioned,  347. 

Johnson,  General  Edward,  116,  143; 
captured,  335. 

Johnson,  M armaduke,  90. 

Johnson,  Reverdy,  mentioned,  85 ; 
offers  to  defend  Lee,  401. 

Johnston,  Colonel  S.,  mentioned, 
300. 

Johnston,  General  Albert  Sidney, 
notice  of,  47  ;  mentioned,  54,  102, 

J33.  T34- 

Johnston,  General  Joseph  E.,  men 
tioned,  9,  38,  47,  48,  54,  101,  104, 
no,  in,  116,  132,  133,  134,  136, 
137,  138,  139,  140,  146,  147,  148; 
promoted,  133 ;  wounded,  149 ; 
praised,  369  ;  to  oppose  Sherman, 
372  ;  letter  to  Mrs.  Lee,  416. 

Johnston,  Peter,  mentioned,  9. 

Jones,  General  J.  R.,  wounded,  212- 
214. 

Jones,  General  W.  E.,  mentioned, 
219,  224,  241. 


Kautz's  cavalry  expedition,  364. 
Kearney,  General  Philip,  34,  196. 
Kelly's  Ford,  187. 
Kelton,  General,  197. 
Keith,  Rev.  John,  26. 
Kemper,  General,  wounded  at  Get 
tysburg,  296. 
Kershaw's  division    in    the  Valley, 

Kershaw,  General,  captured,  385. 
Keyes,  General  E. 'D.,  140,  145. 
Kilpatrick's  cavalry,    266,    270,  315 ; 

raid  on  Richmond,  323. 
King's  division,  191,  192,  193. 
Kossuth,  General  Louis,  423. 

Lacy  House,  229. 

Lacy,  Rev.  Dr.  B.  T.,  246. 


INDEX. 


429 


Lafayette,  Marquis,  10. 

La  Haye,  Sainte,  420. 

Last  cavalry  engagement,  393. 

Latane,  Captain,  killed,  153. 

Lawton,  General,  130. 

League  of  Gileadites,  75. 

Ledlie,  General,  357,  358,  359. 

Lee,  Algernon  Sydney,  17. 

Lee,  Anne  Hill,  20. 

Lee,  Annie,  mentioned,  217,  235. 

Lee,  Cassius  F.,  29,  30. 

Lee,  Charles  Carter,  13,  17. 

Lee,  Charles,  7. 

Lee,  Edmund  I.,  416. 

Lee,  Francis  Lightfoot,  6. 

Lee  genealogy,  21. 

Lee,  General  Fitzhugh,  mentioned, 
172,  183,  187,  188,  194,  206,  219, 
3i8,  371,  375,  376,  385,  387;  let 
ter  to,  408. 

Lee,  General  George  Washington 
Custis,  mentioned,  23,  71,  72,  94, 
95,  330,  380,  401 ;  captured,  385. 

Lee,  General  Henry,  "  Light-Horse 
Harry,"  mentioned,  6,  7,  8,  9,  10, 
n,  12,  14,  15,  16,  17,  20,  80;  his 
grave,  410. 

LEE,  General  ROBERT  E.,  birth, 
20 ;  ancestry  and  education;  21 ; 
at  Military  Academy,  23 ;  enters 
army,  24  ;  marriage,  25  ;  at  Hamp 
ton  Roads,  27 ;  happy  life,  28 ; 
letters,  29,  30 ;  stationed  at  Fort 
Hamilton,  30 ;  promotion,  31 ; 
joins  Scott's  staff,  33  ;  Lee's 
horses,  34;  at  Vera  Cruz,  36; 
battle  of  Cerro  Gordo,  38;  his 
gallantry,  42  ;  brevetted,  42 ;  let 
ters,  44,  45  ;  Lee's  comrades,  47, 
48  ;  returns  to  Virginia,  49  ;  Su 
perintendent  United  States  Mili 
tary  Academy,  51 ;  becomes  Lieu 
tenant  Colonel,  Second  Cavalry,  54; 
his  qualifications,  56;  court-mar 
tial  duty,  57;  in  Texas,  59;  at 
Ringgold  Barracks,  61 ;  Christmas 
at  Fort  Brown,  63,  64 ;  letters  to 
Mrs.  Lee,  66  ;  president  of  a  court- 
martial,  69;  returns  to  Virginia, 
70 ;  in  command  of  regiment,  70 ; 
visits  Comanche  chief,  73 ;  ap 
pointed  executor,  74  ;  leave  of  ab 
sence,  74 ;  John  Brown  raid,  74- 
76 ;  return  to  Texas,  77 ;  sum 
moned  to  Washington,  77 ;  notice 
of  Lee,  78-87  ;  resigns  his  com 
mission,  88  ;  farewell  to  Arlington, 
89  ;  appointed  major-general,  89  ; 
addresses  Virginia  Convention,  92  ;  j 


assumes  command,  93 ;  prepara 
tions  for  war,  99  ;  working  inces 
santly,  108  ;  goes  to  Western  Vir- 
gina,  116  ;  commands  the  armies, 
117 ;  unsuccessful  operations,  120, 
121 ;  campaign  closed,  125 ;  pro 
ceeds  to  South  Carolina,  128  ;  im 
proves  defenses  of  Charleston,  130 ; 
made  commander-in-chief,  132 ; 
appointed  full  general,  133 ;  dis 
approves  of  Johnston's  plans,  138 ; 
assumes  command  of  the  army, 
150 ;  sends  Stuart  on  a  raid,  153 ; 
issues  orders,  154,  155  ;  Jackson 
ordered  to  join  Lee,  156 ;  battle 
order,  158 ;  gains  a  success,  162 ; 
Malvern  Hill,  163 ;  seven  days'  bat 
tle,  164;  exhibits  military  ability, 
172;  defeats  Pope,  196;  battle  of 
Antietam,  212-215  »  victory  of 
Fredericksburg,  226-229  »  home 
sickness,  234  ;  favorite  hen  eaten, 
234 ;  emancipates  slaves,  237  ;  bat 
tle  of  Chancellorsville,  248 ;  fear 
lessness,  261  ;  Gettysburg  cam 
paign,  270-298;  retreat  of  Lee's 
army,  300  ;  crosses  Potomac,  307  ; 
comments  on  the  campaign,  308, 
309 ;  offers  to  resign,  310 ;  de 
scribed  by  an  English  officer,  312  ; 
presented  with  a  house,  319 ;  visits 
Richmond,  324 ;  battles  of  the 
Wilderness,  328-345  ;  siege  of  Pe 
tersburg,  346-378 ;  evacuation  of 
Richmond,  379-394 ;  surrender  at 
Appomattox,  395 ;  takes  leave  of 
his  army,  306  ;  signs  parole,  399 ; 
returns  to  Richmond,  400  ;  accepts 
presidency  of  Washington  College, 
404,  405 ;  inaugurated,  406 ;  goes 
South,  410 ;  visits  his  father's  grave, 
410;  failing  health,  411;  sickness 
and  death,  412 ;  public  funeral, 
414;  equestrian  statue  in  Rich 
mond,  415 ;  marble  statue  in  Lex 
ington,  416  ;  tributes  to  his  mem 
ory,  416-418 ;  his  military  charac 
ter,  420  ;  a  great  soldier,  422. 

Lee,  General  William  H.  F.,  men 
tioned,  29,  118,  121,  122,  261 ; 
captured,  305 ;  mentioned,  321, 
371- 

Lee,  John,  mentioned,  5. 

Lee,  Lancelot,  mentioned,  2. 

Lee,  Lionel,  mentioned,  2. 

Lee,  Mary  Custis,  mentioned,  25,  26, 
71,  106,  381,  411,  412. 

Lee,  Philip,  5. 

Lee,  Philip  Ludwell,  5,  16. 


430 


GENERAL   LEE. 


Lee,  Richard,  2,  3,  4,  5. 

Lee,  Richard  Henry,  6,  8,  83. 

Lee,  Robert,  mentioned,  93, 108,  132, 

217.  323- 

Lee,  Stephen  D.,  mentioned,  194. 

Lee,  Sydney  Smith,  mentioned,  36, 
37,  45,  76,  89,  139. 

Lee,  Thomas,  mentioned,  5,  6. 

Lees  of  Virginia,  2. 

Letcher,  Governor  John,  mentioned, 
90,  101,  126,  318. 

Liberty  Hall  Academy,  405. 

Ligny,  battle  of,  424. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  elected  President, 
83  ;  mentioned,  96,  103,  136,  137, 
157,  166,  169,  170,  175,  176,  177, 
197,  207,  218,  219,  221 ;  warning 
to  Hooker,  240 ;  mentioned,  243, 
262,  264  ;  Grant  and  Lincoln  meet, 
382  ;  Lincoln  in  Richmond,  382  ; 
assassination  of,  400. 

Little  Napoleon — McClellan,  214. 

Little  Round  Top— Gettysburg,  274, 
280,  282,  283. 

Logan,  General  John  A.,  mentioned, 
24. 

Lomax,  General  L.  L.,  in  the  Valley, 
370- 

Long,  General,  mentioned,  28,  276. 

Longstreet,  General  James,  notice  of, 
47 ;  mentioned,  138,  139,  148,  158, 
165,  180,  181,  190,  191,  192,  193, 

203,  205,    208,    220,    222,    226,    260, 

262,  264,  265,  275,  276,  277,  278, 

279, 283, 284,  294 ;  sent  to  the  South 
west,  313  ;  wounded  in  the  Wilder 
ness,  331  ;  return  to  duty,  365 ; 
joins  General  Lee,  pursued,  387. 

Loring,  General,  mentioned,  116, 
118. 

Loucloun  Heights,  Va.,  202. 

Louisa  Court  House,  177. 

Ludwell,  Hannah,  mentioned,  6. 

Mackenzie,  General  Ronalds,  373. 

Macomb,  Captain,  28. 

Madison,  James,  2,  10,  u. 

Magruder,  John  Bankhead,  notice 
of,  47  ;  mentioned,  101,  136,  137, 
138,  151- 

Mahone's  brigade  in, the  Wilderness, 
331 ;  at  Petersburg,  360. 

McClellan,  Gen eral  George  B.,  notice 
of,  46 ;  skillful  retreat,  164,  166, 
168 ;  removed,  218  ;  shortcomings, 
221,  222;  mentioned,  71,  104,  114, 
132,  134,  138,  141,  144,  148,  156, 
171,  173,  177,  181,  195,  198,  200, 

204,  206,  209,  214. 


I  McDowell,  General  Irvin,  notice  of, 
106,  108  ;  mentioned,  137,  140, 
144,  156,  177,  189,  192,  197. 

McLaws,  General,  at  Gettysburg, 
279,  280;  mentioned,  198,  202, 
204,  206,  209,  254. 

McLean,    Wilmer,  of  Appomattox, 

McPherson  Heights,  271. 
Marlborough,  Duke  of,  171,  288. 
Malvern  Hill,  battle  of,  163, 165, 173. 
Manassas,  second  battle  of,  186. 
Mangold,  Captain  of  German  army, 

301. 
Mansfield,  General,  killed  at  Antie- 

tam,  213. 

Marye's  Hill,  230,  231. 
Maryland  Heights,  104,  203,  206,  213. 
Marshall,  Colonel  Charles,  of  Lee's 

staff,  393. 

Marshall,  John,  10. 
Marshall,  William,  19. 
Mason,  Captain,  39. 
Matamoras,  city  of,  63. 
Mattapony  River,  338. 
Matthews,  John,  9. 
Maxey,  General,  killed  at  Fredericks- 
burg,  233. 

Mayflower,  slaves  on,  83. 
Meade,  Bishop,  95. 
Meade,  General  George  G.,  succeeds 

Hooker,  269;    his  character,  269; 

statement  by,  299 ;  censured,  306 ; 

mentioned,  227,  228,  277,  278,  283, 

302,  304. 

Meagher's  Irish  brigade,  231. 
Meigs,  General,  107. 
Merrimac  frigate,  138. 
Merritt,  General  Wesley,  mentioned, 

333,  373- 

Mexican  Republic,  31. 
Mexican  treaty,  40. 
Miles,  Colonel,  203. 
Milroy,  General,  mentioned,  143,  262, 

263,  264. 

Minnigerode,  Rev.  Dr.,  379. 
Mitchell,  Private  W.  B.,  204. 
Moltke,  Field-Marshal,  261,  423. 
Molino  del  Rey,  41. 
Monocacy,  battle  of,  351. 
Mont  St.  Jean,  Waterloo,  421. 
Monroe,  James,  i. 
Montezuma's  gifts,  31. 
Moore,  Anne,  20. 
Morales,  General,  35. 
Mosby,  Colonel  John,  183. 
Mount  Vernon,  Ala.,  99. 
Mount  Vernon  plate,  94. 
Mount  Vernon,  Va.,  71. 


INDEX. 


431 


Napier,  General,  quoted,  148. 
Napoleon    at    Austerlitz,    247;    at 
Waterloo,    278,   421 ;    mentioned, 

13,  17- 

Negro  division  at  Petersburg,  356. 

New  England  States,  82. 

Newton,  General  John,   at  Gettys 
burg,  286  ;  mentioned,  362. 

Ney,  Field-Marshal,  424. 

Nineteenth  Corps,  the,  352. 

Gates,  Colonel,  282. 

On-to- Richmond  movement,  327. 

Orange  Court  House,  Va.,  182,  183, 

222,  320,  328. 

Ordinance  of  Secession,  87. 
Ordnance  Department,  the,  350. 
Ord's  Eighteenth  Corps,  359,  387. 
Ould,  Judge  Robert,  76,  419. 

Palo  Alto,  battle  of,  32. 
Paris,  Count  of,  quoted,  53. 
Patterson,   General  Robert,   38,   46, 

103,  104,  105,  107,  109,  269. 
Paxton,  General,  killed  at  Chancel- 

lorsville,  257. 

Payne,  General  W.  H.,  375. 
Peace  Conference,  86. 
Peck,  General,  243. 
Pegram,  General    John,    114,    115, 

Pelham,  Major  John,  killed,  242. 
Pender's    North    Carolina   brigade, 

252. 

Pendleton,  Edmund,  80. 
Pendleton,  General  W.  N.,  260,  276, 

302,  293,  414. 
Perote,  castle  of,  40. 
Perry,  Colonel  Herman  HM  390. 
Perry,  Commodore  Matthew  C.,  18. 
Petersburg  battery,  358. 
Petersburg  nearly  lost,   348  ;    mine 

exploded,  357 ;  evacuated,  379. 
Pettigrew,  General,  270 ;  killed,  307. 
Pickett,   General,    225 ;    mentioned, 

288  ;   charge  at  Gettysburg,  294 ; 

defeated,    296 ;     mentioned,    376, 

421,  422. 

Pierce,  Franklin,  96. 
Pillow,  General  Gideon  J.,  38,  47. 
Pipe  Creek,  Pa.,  273. 
Pleasonton,  General,  210,  254,  263. 
Plymouth  Rock,  83. 
Polk,  James  K.,  32. 
Pope,  General  John,  173,  177,  180, 

184,  186,  191,  193. 
Pope's  Creek  Church,  6,  48. 
Porter,  General  Fitz  John,  103,  140, 
Porter,  Major  Giles,  61. 


Porteus,  Bishop,  7. 
Pottawattamies,  massacre  of,  75. 
Powers  Hill,  Gettysburg,  290. 
Prince  Edward  Court  House,  387. 
145,  161,  182,  186,  189,  193,  197. 
Prince  Rupert,  152. 

Quantico  Creek,  133. 
Quatre  Bras,  battle  of,  424. 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  242. 

Ramseur,  General,  mortally  wound 
ed,  353- 

Randolph,  Edmund,  10;  grand 
daughter,  402. 

Randolph,  George  W.,  156. 

Rappahannock  River,  14. 

Reed,  General  Theodore,  killed,  384. 

Reno,  General,  205  ;  killed,  207. 

Reynolds,  General,  mentioned,  118, 
119,  127,  186,  190,  192,  226,  227, 
247,  270 ;  killed  at  Gettysburg, 
272. 

Rice  Station,  battle  of,  384. 

Richard  Cceur  de  Lion,  2. 

Richelieu,  Cardinal,  65. 

Richmond,  the  race  for,  333 ;  Pe 
tersburg  and  Richmond  lines  aban 
doned,  379 ;  occupied  by  United 
States  troops,  381  ;  evacuated,  381. 

Ricketts,  General,  mentioned,  190, 
192. 

Ringgold  Barracks,  61,  62. 

Ripley,  General,  130. 

Robertson,  General  Beverley,  184, 
187,  285. 

Rockbridge  Artillery,  323. 

Rodes,  General,  249-252. 

Rosecrans,  General  William  S.,  115, 
127,  122,  123,  119. 

Rosser's  cavalry  brigade,   353,  384, 

371. 

Round  Top,  282. 
Russell's  division,  318,  319. 
Rust,   Colonel  Albert,  119,  120,  121. 

Sanders,  General,  killed,  363. 
Sanford,  General  Charles,  105. 
Santa  Anna,  General,  31,  32,  38. 
San  Jacinto,  battle  of,  31. 
Schenck,  General,  mentioned,  143. 
Schofield,  General  John   M.,    joins 

Sherman,  372. 
Scott,  General  Winfield,  mentioned, 

19,  33,  40,  44,  46 ;  notice  of,  48 ; 

mentioned,   52,   54,   85,   101,   103, 

105,    176;     autobiography,    374; 

mentioned,  423. 
Seceding  States,  the,  84. 


432 


GENERAL  LEE. 


Second  United  States  Cavalry,  54, 
56,  58. 

Seddon's  dispatch  from  Lee,  368. 

Sedgwick,  General  John,  mentioned, 
212,  213,  244,  247 ;  at  Chancellors- 
ville,  255,  256;  mentioned,  318, 
319  ;  killed  in  the  Wilderness,  334. 

Seminary  Ridge,  Gettysburg,  275, 
276,  291. 

Seminole  War,  the,  32. 

Seven  days'  battle,  201. 

Seven  Pines,  battle  of,  151. 

Seventh  United  States  Infantry,  32. 

Sharpsburg,  the  battle  of,  208. 

Shaw,  Mrs.  James,  mentioned,  14. 

Sheridan,  General  Philip  H.,  notice 
of,  327  ;  cavalry  raid,  343 ;  sent  to 
the  Valley,  352  ;  victory  at  Fisher's 
Hill,  353 ;  defeats  Early,  353 ;  at 
Five  Forks,  377  ;  at  Titusville,  383. 

Sherman,  Senator  John,  103. 

Sherman,  General  William  T.,  at 
Savannah,  368  ;  marching  North, 
370 ;  at  Goldsborough,  372  ;  advice 
about  Lee,  374. 

Shields,  General  James,  39,  52,  144. 

Shippen,  Dr.  William,  8. 

Shirley  on  the  James,  16,  20. 

Shropshire  Lees,  2,  3. 

Sibley  Tent,  the,  72. 

Sickles,  General  D.  E.,  244,  248, 
273,  281. 

Sigel,  General,  179,  190,  192,  341. 

Slavery  abolished,  219. 

Slocum,  General  Henry  W.,  187,248, 
290. 

Smith,  General  Gustavus  W.,  138, 
139,  147,  148,  181. 

Smith,  General  Purcifor  F.,  men 
tioned,  41  ;  noticed,  46,  47. 

Smith,  General  William  F.,  227, 
266,  341,  342,  346,  347. 

Solferino  flag,  the,  327. 

Sorrel,  General,  mentioned,  390. 

Southern  cavalry,  154. 

Spottswood,  Alexander,  21. 

Spottsylvania  Court  House,  259,  333. 

Stafford  Heights,  225. 

Stanard's  Vermont  troops,  294. 

Stanton,  Edwin  M.,  mentioned,  167, 
221,  242,  268. 

Starke,  General,  killed,  212. 

Stephens,  Alexander  H.,  90. 

Stevens,  General,  mentioned,  196. 

Stevens,  Mrs.  Martha,  232. 

Stewart,  John,  of  Brook  Hill,  Va., 
401. 

St.  John,  General  J.  M.,  383. 

St.  Lambert  Heights,  422. 


St.  Paul,  toast  to,  222. 

St.  Paul's  Church,  Richmond,  379. 

Stoneman,  General,  163,  242,  243; 
at  Knoxville,  370. 

Stonewall  brigade,  324,  325. 

Stratford,  estate  of,  5,  6,  16. 

Stuart,  General  J.  E.  B.,  mentioned, 
54,  76,  163,  165,  182,  184,  187,  193, 
205,  215,  222,  228,  244,  253,  254, 
262,  263,  265,  285,  315  ;  notice  of, 
152 ;  Pennsylvania  raid,  220 ;  at 
Gettysburg,  208,  299;  killed  at 
Yellow  Tavern,  337 ;  described, 
337- 

Stuart,  the  house  of,  3. 

Sumner,  General  Edwin  V.,  men 
tioned,  54,  57,  140,  147,  194,  222, 
223,  226,  229. 

Suwanee  University,  Tennessee,  404. 

Sword  of  General  Lee,  394. 

Sykes,  General,  mentioned,  283. 

Tabernacle  Church,  246. 
Taliaferro,  General,  76, 186,  190, 191- 

228. 

Taney,  Chief  Justice,  82. 
Tayloe,  Colonel  G.  E.,  390. 
Taylor,  Colonel,  W.  H.,  150,  166, 

126,  271,  301. 

Taylor,  Zachary,  32,  33, 54. 
Terry,  General,  24. 
Texan    troops    in    the   Wilderness, 

33i. 
Thomas,  General  George  H.,  notice 

of,  47 ;  mentioned,  61,  62,  58,  60, 

103. 
Thomas,   G.   H.,   Mrs.,   mentioned, 

67,69. 

Thomas,  General  Lorenzo,  115. 
Thoroughfare  Gap,    189,    190,   192, 

Todd's  Tavern,  Va.,  244. 

Toombs,  General  Robert,  213,  214. 

Torbert's  cavalry  division,  343. 

Totopatomoy  Creek,  158. 

Traveler,  Lee's  favorite  horse,  210, 
312,  406. 

Trevilian's,  cavalry  fight  at,  344. 

Trimble,  General,  at  Gettysburg,  287. 

Trist,  Nicholas  P.,  commissioner.  46. 

Tucker's,  Commodore,  naval  bat 
talion,  381. 

Tunstall's  Station,  Va.,  154. 

Turenne,  Field-Marshal,  13,  423. 

Turner's  Gap,  Va.,  205,  206. 

Twiggs,  General  David  E.,  38,  40. 

United  States  Ford,  245. 
Upton's  brigade,  319. 


INDEX. 


433 


Valley  of  Virginia,  104, 107. 
Van  Buren,  Martin,  32. 
Van  Dorn,  General,  133. 
Venable,  Colonel,  277. 
Vendome,  Marshal,  defeated,  288. 
Vera  Cruz,  siege  of,  33,  35,  36,  37. 
Verdiersville,  330. 
Vidaun,  General,  62. 
Vicksburg,  surrender  of,  305. 
Vincent,  General,  killed  at  Gettys 
burg,  302. 

Virginia  Convention,  87. 
Virginia  Military  Institute,  414. 
Virginians  and  Georgians,  336. 
Volunteer  officers,  24. 

Wadsworth,     General,     mentioned, 

i37»  277,  271. 
Walker,   General  R.   L.,   202,   290, 

Wallace  and  Bruce,  423. 
Walton,  Colonel,  227. 
Warren,  General  Gouverneur  K.,  at 
Gettysburg,  283 ;  mentioned,  316- 

Washington  Artillery,  214,  227,  230, 

233  ;  at  Gettysburg,  290. 
Washington,  Augustine,  mentioned, 

i. 
Washington,  Colonel  John  A.,  116, 

117,  121,  122. 

Washington  College,  403,  406,  407. 
Washington,  General  George,  men 
tioned,  i,  6,  n,  169,  415. 
Washington,    Lawrence,    i,    10,   n, 

13,  26,  71,  80,  137. 
Washington    and    Lee    University, 

281,  413. 

Washington,  Mrs.  Mary,  26. 
Waterloo,  battle  of,  13. 
Waterloo  Bridge,  182, 184,  186. 
Wellington,    Duke    of,    mentioned, 

171,  228,  247,  278 ;  at  Waterloo, 

„  420- 

a's  brigade  at  Gettysburg,  295. 
Webster,  Daniel,  McCleUan's  horse, 
211. 


Webb': 


Weed,  General,  killed  at  Gettysburg, 

Weiseger,  General,  at  Petersburg, 
360. 

Weitzel,  General,  commands  Eight 
eenth  Corps,  365. 

Western  armies,  success  of,  347. 

Westmoreland  County,  146. 

Westover  estate,  Virginia,  164. 

West  Point  graduates,  24. 

Whisky  Insurrection,  10. 

White  House,  164,  167. 

White  Oak  Swamp,  153,  162. 

White,  Professor,  281. 

White,  William,  of  Lexington,  406. 

Whiting,  General  W.  H.  C.,  155. 

Whittier,  t  Colonel,  of  Humphreys's 
staff,  391. 

Wickham  family,  the,  305. 

Wigfall,  Senator,  of  Texas,  332. 

Wilcox's  brigade  at  Gettysburg, 
279-297. 

Wilderness,  battles  of  the,  329. 

Wilderness  tavern,  247,  329. 

William  and  Mary  College,  33. 

William  the  Conqueror,  2,  141,  278. 

Williams,   General   Seth,   262,  389, 

Windsor  Forest  estate,  18. 
Windsor,  General  Charles,  180. 
Wirtz,  Captain,  trial  of,  407. 
Wise,  General  Henry  A.,   76,    no, 

113,  117,  118,  119,  123,  347. 
Withers,  John,  150. 
Wolsey,  Cardinal,  mentioned,  65. 
Wool,  General  John  E.,  34,  35. 
Worth,  General  William  J.,  40. 
Wright,   General    H.    G.,    succeeds 

Sedgwick,  334. 

Yellow  Tavern,  battle  of,  337. 
Yorktown,  136. 
Young  Napoleon,  114. 

Ziegler's  Grove  at  Gettysburg,  296. 
Zook,  General,  killed  at  Gettysburg, 
302- 


(17) 


THE    END. 


I 


J 

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